2026 Pro Football Hall of Fame lookahead: Who is eligible for the first time? Predicting locks, others

Now that the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s 2025 class has officially been enshrined, it’s time to take a look at who might be getting the call to Canton, Ohio in 2026. 

A ton of notable players will become eligible for induction in 2026, led by Bill Belichick, one of the greatest coaches in NFL history. Players must be retired for at least five years to be eligible, while coaches recently saw their waiting period reduced from five seasons to one. 

There are also a host of other notable players who are also eligible for induction. Among those players are quarterback Eli Manning, receiver Torry Holt, linebacker Luke Kuechly, offensive lineman Willie Anderson and kicker Adam Vinatieri. Holt, Kuechly, Anderson and Vinatieri will automatically be finalists in 2026 because they reached the final seven in voting in 2025 but did not get elected. 

Here’s a quick rundown of some of the notable players who will be eligible for the first time. 

Of this list of players, Brees and Fitzgerald figure to be locks for induction next year, along with Belichick, who led the Patriots to a record six Super Bowl wins during his time in New England. Brees retired as the NFL’s career leader in both passing yards and touchdown passes (he is currently second to Tom Brady in both categories). Brees also has a Super Bowl win and Super Bowl MVP trophy to boot. Fitzgerald is second to only Jerry Rice in both career receptions and receiving yards. His signature moment was his prolific 2008 playoff run that ended with a close loss to Pittsburgh in the Super Bowl. 

Gore will also receive heavy consideration next year, given that he is third all time in career rushing yards. Rivers likely will, too, but voters may decide to only select one quarterback for next year’s class, which would force Rivers to wait at least a year before he gets his call to Canton. Rivers will get in at some point, as he is sixth all time in both career passing yards and touchdown passes. 

McCoy, Gurley, Pouncey and Edelman have interesting, albeit different, cases. McCoy’s career numbers are good, but he just misses the unofficial cut (12,000 career rushing yards) required for running backs to receive near-automatic enshrinement. Gurley’s career started off with a bang, but it was cut extremely short due to injury. Pouncey has the accolades, but it’s hard for linemen to make the Hall of Fame. Edelman is one of the greatest postseason performers ever, but his regular-season numbers don’t measure up. 

Regarding other modern-era players, each of this year’s finalists have very good arguments for induction. Manning also has a very compelling argument for induction. While many feel that Manning had a Hall of Fame career, not enough voters felt that Manning didn’t deserve the distinction of being a first ballot Hall of Famer. 

By most measurements, Manning’s career is more than deserving of enshrinement. He’s 11th all-time in both career passing yards and career touchdown passes. Manning is a two-time Super Bowl MVP who played a major role in one of the biggest upsets in NFL history. Both of Manning’s Super Bowl wins came at the expense of the dynastic New England Patriots. 

Manning’s detractors point to his .500 regular season record, underwhelming career completion percentage and his high interception rate. Manning’s supporters counter by pointing to his impressive postseason career that includes an 8-4 record and twice as many touchdown passes (18) than interceptions (9). Manning was especially good in the 2011 playoffs, when he completed 65% of his passes with nine touchdowns against just one interceptions. 

Three notable coaching candidates are Mike Holmgren, Mike Shanahan and Marty Schottenheimer. Holmgren led the Packers to one Super Bowl win, two straight NFC titles and with Seattle became the second coach to lead multiple franchises to the Super Bowl. Holmgren’s first Super Bowl loss came at the hands of Shanahan’s Broncos, who won back-to-back Super Bowls to close out the 1990s. Both Holmgren and Shanahan won Super Bowls as offensive coordinators before becoming head coaches. 

Schottheimer never won a Super Bowl, but his teams got close several times. He is also just one of eight coaches to reach 200 career wins. Schottheimer led three different franchises to the postseason. 

A notable contributor candidate is Robert Kraft, who despite the Patriots’ success during his decades as the team’s owner has continuously been passed over in recent years by voters. The reason is reportedly because some voters believe that Kraft “was part of the biggest cheating scandal in NFL history.” Ironically, it doesn’t appear that Belichick will suffer the same wrath from voters despite his alleged involvement in the Patriots’ sign stealing controversy.  

As far as predicting next year’s class, it’s a good bet that Brees, Fitzgerald, Belichick will make it in their first year of eligibility. Gore should make it in, but he may not have to get as much support. 

The rest of the first-time eligible players will join a lengthy list of former players, coaches and contributors who are hoping that their careers are one day deemed worthy of enshrinement.