2021 will be an exciting year for the NFL and the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
There will be a total of 130 former players eligible for a gold jacket next year. Among the 130, there will be 14 first-time nominees including Peyton Manning, Calvin Johnson, and Charles Woodson.
Manning will be the headliner of the class after his stellar 18-year NFL career. Manning finished his career as the winningest quarterback of all-time, and at the time held practically every passing record you could think of, including most career passing yards and touchdowns. Those records have since been broken by Drew Brees and Tom Brady, but they’ve played in more games and thrown more passes than Manning.
The “Omaha” play caller finished his career with a NFL record five MVP awards — four with the Indianapolis Colts and one with the Denver Broncos after having the greatest single season by a quarterback in NFL history (2013). The 10-time All-Pro and 14-time Pro Bowler is the only quarterback in NFL history to take four different head coaches to a Super Bowl, and also the only starting quarterback in NFL history to win a Super Bowl with two different franchises.
Former Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson will also be on the ballot, but it could be tricky deciding if he will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
Johnson currently ranks 31st on the all-time list with 11,619 receiving yards, and 22nd in receiving touchdowns (83). One thing that could hurt Johnson from getting in on his first ballot is his shortened career. Johnson only played nine seasons in the NFL, and some might argue that he was still in his prime when he walked away from the game.
The four-time All-Pro finished his career with over 1,000 yards in seven out of his nine seasons, including his record-breaking year in 2012. In just 15 games, the six-time Pro Bowler broke Jerry Rice’s single season receiving yards record of 1,848. Johnson finished that season with 1,964 yards.
Charles Woodson is one of the greatest secondary players in NFL history. Woodson started off as a cornerback, but switched to the safety position late in his career. Woodson spent his first eight seasons with the Oakland Raiders before signing a monster deal with the Green Bay Packers in 2006. The eight-time All-Pro won a Super Bowl with Green Bay in 2011 after failing to win the big one with the Raiders.
Woodson currently ranks tied for 5th in interceptions on the NFL’s all-time list. The nine-time Pro Bowler was the defensive rookie of the year in 1998 and later became the NFL defensive player of the year in 2009.
The rest of first year nominees include wide receivers Wes Welker and Roddy White. On defense Jared Allen, Justin Tuck, and Charles Tillman round out the top names.
The full list of 130 nominees can be viewed here.
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