2026 NFL season: Future Hall of Famers from all 32 teams

How many Hall of Famers are playing in the NFL right now?

It depends on when you're evaluating, of course. There are veterans near the end of their careers who have already proved themselves as locks to receive the game's highest honor one day, such as Aaron Rodgers and Derrick Henry. There are players in their prime who are well on their way, such as Justin Jefferson and Pat Surtain II. And then there are young players who haven't yet proved themselves to be Hall of Famers but could break out in the years to come, such as Caleb Downs or Arvell Reese from the 2026 draft.

Go back to 2002, the first year of the 16-game era. There are 54 players who suited up for at least one game that season enshrined in the Hall of Fame. That list doesn't include Tom Brady (who becomes eligible in 2028) or borderline candidates such as Steve Smith and Reggie Wayne, who could earn enough votes to cross the threshold in the future. At the very least, we can use 55 Hall of Famers as our gauge, which is just under 3% of the 1,839 players who suited up for at least one game that season.

Subscribe: 'The Bill Barnwell Show'

Today, I'm going through each of the league's 32 teams and attempting to identify the players who either are on track or have a realistic hope of earning gold jackets one day. This will be my estimate of who is likely to make it using historical comparables as opposed to my opinion of who should or should not be enshrined at some point. Naturally, that includes positional preferences; voters have historically loved to honor quarterbacks, running backs and receivers, but the bar is higher for linemen. I won't attempt to pick among the rookies, whom we haven't yet seen line up for an NFL snap, but I'll work with everybody else and split the most notable candidates into one of five categories:

Players listed as "in" have already done enough to earn enshrinement given their existing résumé. They could retire tomorrow and make it into the Hall of Fame after they become eligible. Those "on the cusp" have already done the vast majority of the work required and need only another season or two of solid play to get over the hump. As it stands, their résumé might already be enough to get in, but another successful season could push them into lock territory. The "keep it up" category is for players who are performing at a Hall of Fame level but haven't done so for a long enough time to guarantee their path to enshrinement. They need to play at or near their existing level for several more seasons to have a shot. Guys who have "work to do" aren't on track to make it to the Hall of Fame with their existing résumé and/or their most recent level of play. In some cases, that could be because injuries slowed their progress in 2025, or because they haven't played at a Hall-caliber level for long enough. They still have a shot, but something has to change. Finally, the "missing out" category is for veterans who are at the point where they don't have the existing résumé to make it to the Hall nor the time to reestablish themselves as viable candidates. Though anything's possible, it will be a serious surprise if any of these players end up in Canton one day. They're far more likely to end up in the Hall of Very Good. I usually start these all-32 columns with teams on the East Coast, so let's mix things up and begin out west.