The Pro Football Hall of Fame represents the ultimate honor for NFL legends, a dream every player chases from their first snap. The 2025 class welcomed just four new members, creating anticipation for who might join them next year. With several strong candidates entering their second year of eligibility and new first-ballot hopefuls, the 2026 class promises compelling debates and tough decisions.
Who Will Make the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2026?
The 2025 class saw only four players inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame: Eric Allen, Jared Allen, Antonio Gates, and Sterling Sharpe. The selection process remains complex and often controversial, with heated debates surrounding each year’s choices. By rule, the Hall must induct at least four and no more than eight players per class.
Here are our predictions for who could make the Class of 2026.
Drew Brees
Drew Brees’ résumé makes him a lock for first-ballot Hall of Fame induction. Over a 20-year career, he consistently performed at an elite level and helped redefine the quarterback position from a technical standpoint.
In honor of @DrewBrees induction to the @Saints HOF, we throw it back to his near perfect passing performance in 2019 🎯 pic.twitter.com/FZRsG66m4L
— NFL (@NFL) May 31, 2024
He ranks second all-time in both passing yards (80,358) and touchdowns (571), was named to 13 Pro Bowls, earned five All-Pro selections including one First-Team nod, won Offensive Player of the Year twice, and led the New Orleans Saints to a Super Bowl XLIV title, where he was named MVP in a historic win over Peyton Manning’s Indianapolis Colts.
As a pure passer, few in NFL history are in Brees’ league. He is widely regarded as a top-10 quarterback of all time, and his induction in 2026 is as close to a certainty as it gets.
Larry Fitzgerald
When you trail only Jerry Rice in a major statistical category, your career is nothing short of legendary. That’s exactly the case for Larry Fitzgerald, who ranks second all-time in receiving yards with 17,492.
Over 17 seasons, Fitzgerald became the gold standard for reliability at wide receiver, famously known for his incredibly low drop rate and his ability to come through in clutch moments.
Sometimes, we still think about Larry Fitzgerald saving the day against the Packers back in 2016. #NFL pic.twitter.com/2gmjwqH5zH
— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) June 14, 2023
He earned 11 Pro Bowl selections, three All-Pro nods, including one First-Team selection, and was named to the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team. He also finished his career with 121 total touchdowns.
Fitzgerald is another near-lock for first-ballot Hall of Fame induction in 2026.
Jason Witten
They say the best ability a football player can have is availability. No one in NFL history embodied that more than Jason Witten. Throughout his 17-year career, Witten missed just one game due to injury during his rookie season.
He retired as the second all-time leader in receiving yards among tight ends, with 13,046, trailing only Tony Gonzalez. Witten was a four-time All-Pro, twice First-Team, an 11-time Pro Bowl selection, and the 2012 winner of the prestigious Walter Payton Man of the Year Award.
Only nine tight ends have ever been enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, with Gates being the most recent in the Class of 2025. As the second-most productive tight end in league history, Witten is a strong candidate to be inducted in his first year of eligibility, capping one of the most prolific careers ever at the position.
Bill Belichick
How can anyone imagine a world where perhaps the greatest head coach in football history doesn’t make it into the Hall of Fame in his first year? Bill Belichick led the greatest dynasty the NFL has ever seen, guiding the New England Patriots to six Super Bowl titles in 24 years.
Beyond his time in New England, he also won two more Super Bowls as the defensive coordinator of the New York Giants. He was named NFL Coach of the Year three times, in 2003, 2007, and 2010, selected as the head coach for both the 2000s and 2010s All-Decade Teams, and holds the record for most playoff wins by a head coach, with 31.
His defensive system and football philosophy spawned a coaching tree that still influences the league today, and his legacy is forever etched into the sport’s history. His place in Canton is already secured. The only question is whether he’ll be inducted immediately or will have to wait a year.
Eli Manning
It came as a surprise to many when Eli Manning wasn’t selected to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. There had been debate about whether he truly belonged in Canton, but it’s hard to imagine the quarterback who twice defeated the Patriots’ dynasty in the Super Bowl being left out of the sport’s most elite club.
Eli Manning and the #Giants took down the 18-0 #Patriots in Super Bowl XLII. One of the biggest upsets in sports history. pic.twitter.com/ug4t8qwCDW
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) January 22, 2020
It’s true that during the regular season, Manning wasn’t considered one of the most dominant quarterbacks of all time. But his two Super Bowl wins, both of which earned him MVP honors, featured clutch, game-changing plays in the final minutes that forever shaped NFL history.
Manning ranks 11th all-time in passing yards with 57,023Â and is expected to get the necessary votes in his second year of eligibility, joining his brother in one of the most iconic family duos in NFL history.
Which Players Face Tougher Paths to Canton?
Luke Kuechly
It’s hard to find a player who built a résumé as compelling as Luke Kuechly’s in just eight NFL seasons. He earned seven Pro Bowl selections, seven All-Pro honors, five of them First-Team, was named to the 2010s All-Decade Team, won Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2012, and redefined the linebacker position during his time in the league.
His absence from the 2025 Hall of Fame class could be attributed to the brevity of his career, but entering his second year of eligibility, Kuechly has a strong chance to be inducted. His dominance at a position that was once considered to be losing value helped bring new attention and respect to the role of inside linebacker in today’s NFL.
Adam Vinatieri
Adam Vinatieri’s omission from the 2025 class was also a surprise, but he’s expected to be selected for the Hall of Fame in 2026. The NFL has historically held a high bar for inducting pure kickers, with only two specialists who played exclusively at the position being enshrined: Morten Andersen and Jan Stenerud.
But it’s time to add another. Vinatieri is the NFL’s all-time leading scorer with 2,673 points and won three Super Bowls. He was also named First-Team All-Pro three times. He rounds out our list of seven projected inductees for the Hall of Fame class of 2026.
