Future Hall of Very Good players

[SeahawkFever]

Out of curiosity,

Are there any players or coaches who are currently active or recently retired (say in the last five years or so) that you think are likely to run through their eligibility without making the Hall of Fame and that years into the future could be seen as Hall of Very Good?

In other words, who’s been really good but that you see getting overlooked? Just curious what you’d all say.

For example, as a Seahawk fan, I think one player from my team who could be viewed as this is Russell Wilson.

He’s got nine pro bowl selections, a second team all pro in 2019 (Lamar Jackson in his great MVP year being the first team), he won a Super Bowl on a team with an above average offense and elite defense, and had some really good years in the second half of the 2010’s but a couple of them were as the Legion of Boom started to show its age, and after the offense seemed to be tilted towards passing more, the team didn’t make it past the divisional round.

The reason I say that I think he’ll be Hall of Very Good someday and not Hall of Fame however is the fact that his last year in Seattle was not that great, and the years in Denver haven’t done him many favors either.

I don’t know how hard voters would hold the last couple years against Russ, but those seem to have soured people’s perception of Russell Wilson at least recently.

One other potential knock against him in his prime years he never received an MVP vote as a quarterback.

To be fair, I recall Cris Collinsworth saying he’d have voted for Russ if he turned his ballot in on time, and you could say that voting was more cutthroat in the 2010’s (correct me if I’m wrong, but weren’t there a number of years where only two players got votes?), but the fact remains that award has become very heavily quarterback-centric to the point where I’ve seen fans question whether there should be another award for the best skill position non quarterback in the NFL to recognize some of the great running back and receiver seasons.

If you want to argue that Russell Wilson in those years was the caliber of quarterback who could have received an MVP in a less cutthroat generation, then I could see that argument, but I don’t know if he’s Hall of Very Good.

So who looks to be Hall of Very Good to you, and could Russell Wilson be an example of one such player?

[RyanChristiansen]

Ken Stabler made it (finally) which establishes a good measuring stick for Wilson. Stabler was 16-18 across his last three seasons as a starter.

[Brian wolf]

I feel Wilson will make the HOF due to his winning pct as a starter and his combination as a runner-passer. Winning for the Steelers will seal the deal but if he were to keep regressing, similar to Eli Manning, he may not get voted in. Is his heart for the game still there? A bad year could make any team wonder ...

[sluggermatt15]

Excellent thread.

To name a few:
Phil Rivers
Ben Roethlisberger
Hines Ward
Marukice Pouncey
David DeCastro
Eli Manning

[ChrisBabcock]

Navorro Bowman

[SeahawkFever]

Excellent thread.

To name a few:
Phil Rivers
Ben Roethlisberger
Hines Ward
Marukice Pouncey
David DeCastro
Eli Manning

How about Matt Ryan? I’d say he could be Hall of Very Good but not quite Hall of Fame.

And among offensive linemen, I think Tom Nalen could show up here in eight years. Not that I don’t think he belongs in Canton, but he retired after 2007, and being a lineman, I don’t see anyone bring him up whenever the Broncos teams that John Elway won his Super Bowls on are brought up, and I don’t think he’s ever made it past the preliminary round and made it to the final 25.

As for those you’ve listed, I think Pouncey could make Canton through regular balloting (he made an all-decade team in addition to nine pro bowl and five all pro selections). It can be tough for linemen, but the all decade team selection may make him stand out compared to some.

I think DeCastro could have a harder time than Pouncey if only because he has fewer accolades to his name (six pro bowls and three all pro selections in his case).

Accolades aren’t everything of course, but if we are talking about how likely someone is to make the Hall of Fame, I think they are worth noting. In particular for linemen because they don’t produce individual stats that are mainstream and their accolade count is one of the few things that is quantifiable that an offensive lineman would have attached to his name.

Hines Ward was actually among the 25 semifinalists last voting with quite a few ballots to go, so it’s not impossible that he could be voted in in regular eligibility.

As for Rivers and Big Ben, I think Roethlisberger has a better shot if only due to the Super Bowls in addition to his career totals.

I am of the opinion that Eli will get in on the strength of his championships, which are talked about quite a bit in particular because the Patriots are who he beat (2007 in particular). I wouldn’t expect first ballot though due to how underwhelming the rest of his career could be seen in comparison to other Hall of Fame quarterbacks by some.

As I like to put it: If you think Eli Manning is a Hall of Famer, it’s because he has two Super Bowl titles over the Patriots, and if you don’t it’s because you don’t think he was among the handful of best quarterbacks of his generation, and that the Super Bowls aren’t enough to make up for that in your mind. I think enough voters could be of the former mindset to get him in in his regular eligibility but we’ll see.

Regardless of what you think of Rivers, Big Ben and Eli’s Hall of Fame cases, I’d say they each could be Hall of Very Good at minimum in the future.

What do you think?

[sluggermatt15]

^For the QBs I think part of their chances rests on how the committee views the inflated passing numbers in today's era. If they disregard them, it hurts all three. I don't know where to put Matt Ryan. IMO he certainly does not belong in the PFHOF. He was on the losing end of the two biggest blown leads in NFL history - Super Bowl LI & December 17, 2022 against the Vikings in his final season (25 and 29 point leads lost, respectively). There are plenty of QBs who won an MVP award who aren't in the Pro Football Hall of Fame (Bert Jones, Ken Anderson, Brian Sipe, Earl Morrall, Roman Gabriel, Joe Theismann, Boomer Esiason).

As far as accolades, Eli and Ben have two Super Bowls. But other than that? Not much. Neither were ever a consensus all-pro. Rivers never was either. IMO none of the three were nearly as good as the best QBs in their era - Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers.

So this is why I listed them as HOVG. I would not be surprised if any or all of Rivers, Manning, Roethlisberger are elected to Canton.


Not easy for offensive lineman to gain election to Canton, especially if they are not "slam dunks" like Joe Thomas, Alan Faneca, Walter Jones, Orlando Pace, etc.). A center who had a longer and arguably similar career to Maurkice Pouncey that is still not in Canton is Jeff Saturday. He's been eligible for over 5 years now. I agree Tom Nalen is more of a Hall of Very Good candidate.