Eli Manning
Marshawn Lynch
Darren Sproles
Demaryius Thomas
Vernon Davis
Delanie Walker
Travis Frederick
Ryan Kalil
Joe Staley
Marshall Yanda
Terrell Suggs
Luke Kuechly
Antoine Bethea
Aqib Talib
Earl Thomas
Adam Vinatieri
Simply for the position he plays and the two Super Bowls he won, Eli Manning grabs attention. Manning, Marshawn Lynch, Marshall Yanda, Terrell Suggs, Luke Kuechly, and Adam Vinatieri are the headliners of the first-year eligibles.
10 finalists from last year’s vote are also among the 167 nominees.
Jared Allen
Fred Taylor
Torry Holt
Reggie Wayne
Antonio Gates
Willie Anderson
Jahri Evans
Eric Allen
Rodney Harrison
Darren Woodson
Here are the 167 nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025:
Quarterbacks
Marc Bulger
Randall Cunningham
Jake Delhomme
Doug Flutie
Rich Gannon
Jeff Garcia
Donovan McNabb
Eli Manning
Steve McNair
Tony Romo
Running Backs
Shaun Alexander
Terry Allen
Jamal Anderson
Tiki Barber
Larry Centers
Jamaal Charles
Stephen Davis
Corey Dillon
Warrick Dunn
Charlie Garner
Eddie George
Priest Holmes
Steven Jackson
Chris Johnson
Thomas Jones
John Kuhn
Vonta Leach
Dorsey Levens
Jamal Lewis
Marshawn Lynch
Eric Metcalf
Glyn Milburn
Lorenzo Neal
Clinton Portis
Tony Richardson
Robert Smith
Darren Sporles
Fred Taylor
Chris Warren
Ricky Watters
Ricky Williams
Wide Receivers
Anquan Boldin
Donald Driver
Antonio Freeman
Irving Fryar
Torry Holt
Joe Horn
Chad Johnson
Brandon Marshall
Derrick Mason
Herman Moore
Mushin Muhammad
Jordy Nelson
Andre Rison
Jimmy Smith
Rod Smith
Steve Smith Sr.
Demaryius Thomas
Hines Ward
Reggie Wayne
Wes Welker
Roddy White
Tight Ends
Ben Coates
Vernon Davis
Antonio Gates
Jeremy Shockey
Delanie Walker
Wesley Walls
Offensive Linemen
Willie Anderson
Bruce Armstrong
Matt Birk
Lomas Brown
Ruben Brown
Jahri Evans
Travis Frederick
Jordan Gross
Ryan Kalil
Lincoln Kennedy
Olin Kreutz
T.J. Lang
Nick Mangold
Logan Mankins
Tom Nalen
Jeff Saturday
Mark Schlereth
Josh Sitton
Chris Snee
Joe Staley
Dave Szott
Brian Waters
Richmond Webb
Erik Williams
Steve Wisniewski
Marshall Yanda
Defensive Linemen
Jared Allen
John Abraham
La’Roi Glover
Casey Hampton
Robert Mathis
Chester McGlockton
Haloti Ngata
Simeon Rice
Clyde Simmons
Justin Smith
Neil Smith
Henry Thomas
Justin Tuck
Ted Washington
Vince Wilfork
Jamal Williams
Kevin Williams
Pat Williams
Linebackers
Jessie Armstead
Brendon Ayanbadejo
Cornelius Bennett
Lance Briggs
Keith Brooking
NaVorro Bowman
Tedy Bruschi
Donnie Edwards
James Farrior
London Fletcher
James Harrison
Luke Kuechly
Willie McGinest
Ken Norton Jr.
Julian Peterson
Bill Romanowski
Takeo Spikes
Terrell Suggs
Mike Vrabel
Lee Woodall
Defensive Backs
Eric Allen
Eric Berry
Antoine Bethea
Dre’ Bly
Kam Chancellor
Nick Collins
Antonio Chromartie
DeAngelo Hall
Rodney Harrison
Eugene Robinson
Samari Rolle
Allen Rossum
Bob Sanders
Aqib Talib
Earl Thomas
Charles Tillman
Troy Vincent
Darren Woodson
Punters/Kickers
David Akers
Gary Anderson
Darren Bennett
Jason Elam
Jeff Feagles
Jason Hanson
John Kasay
Sean Landeta
Shane Lechler
Pat McAfee
Brian Moorman
Matt Stover
Matt Turk
Mike Vanderjagt
Adam Vinatieri
Special Teams
Josh Cribbs
Brian Mitchell
The next step in the process to the Class of 2025 comes in mid-October. A specially selected screening committee of 11 will reduce the 167 nominees to 50. That list of candidates will then be forwarded to the Hall’s 50-member board of selectors. The list will then be reduced to 25 later this fall and then to 15 finalists. Those finalists will be discussed in January, with as many as five elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025.
At each step of this annual process, I can’t stop myself from coming up with my own Class. I always start with the first-year eligibles and then look at the returning finalists. In my opinion, Luke Kuechly and Marshall Yanda are the only first-year eligibles that could/should immediately make it to Canton. Simply because of the position they played, I can’t help but compare Kuechly’s Hall case to that of Patrick Willis. Both were the best off-ball linebackers in the league throughout their career. I thought that Willis was deserving of first-year consideration. The voters absolutely did not. He had to wait a few years. Will Kuechly have a similar wait? With these voters, who knows? Perhaps, voters knocked Willis for his eight-year career. Kuechly also had an eight-year career. While I believe that Kuechly and Yanda are the most deserving of first-year induction, I believe the voters will seriously consider Eli Manning, Terrell Suggs, and Adam Vinatieri as well.
As for the returning finalists, I’m starting with Jared Allen. It’s his time. It should’ve been last year but the voters, for some reason, allowed Dwight Freeney to leapfrog him. If the same nonsense happens this year with Robert Mathis or Suggs, I might storm the Hall. After Allen, Antonio Gates feels automatic. It also feels like a good year to whittle away at the receiver logjam. I really like Steve Smith Sr but Torry Holt and Reggie Wayne have been waiting longer.
My 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame Class
Luke Kuechly
Jared Allen
Antonio Gates
Torry Holt
Willie Anderson
If that’s the Class, I’ll be in Canton in August.
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