8 Falcons on list of modern-era nominees for Pro Football Hall of Fame
FLOWERY BRANCH — Running back Warrick Dunn, defensive end John Abraham and wide receiver Roddy White head a group of eight former Falcons on the list of 128 modern-era players nominated for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2026 on Thursday.
The list of nominees consists of 77 offensive players, 42 defensive players and nine special teams players.
A screening committee will reduce the list to 50 (plus ties, if any, for the 50th spot), which will be announced in mid-October.
The full 50-person Hall of Fame selection committee then will reduce the list further — to 25 semifinalists, later this fall. Another vote will create the list of 15 Modern-Era player finalists who will be discussed at the annual selection meeting ahead of Super Bowl LX.
Dunn, who stood only 5-foot-8, was one of the toughest running backs of his era. Abraham terrorized quarterbacks for 15 seasons and had 133.5 sacks.
Jared Allen, who was among the Class of 2025 inductees, mentioned Abraham and Terrell Suggs as the next players at the position to likely receive a gold jacket and be enshrined in Canton.
“John Abraham was a stud,” Allen told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in August in Canton. “Suggs was a phenomenal player. He 100% deserves to be in. Then guys like Abraham. Abraham was before his time; he was a monster setting the tone. … I would say Suggs and Abraham for sure, from the edge standpoint.”
White, who helped turn the Falcons into contenders on the teams coached by Mike Smith, has strong support from Hall of Fame assistant coach Terry Robiskie.
In addition to Dunn, Abraham and White, running back Steven Jackson, returner/running back/wide receiver Eric Metcalf, cornerback DeAngelo Hall, cornerback Asante Samuel and cornerback/returner Allen Rossum also were nominated.
Several players from the state also were nominated: wide receiver Hines Ward (Forest Park High/UGA), running back Jamal Lewis (Douglass), center Jeff Saturday (Shamrock), defensive end Robert Mathis (McNair), defensive end Jay Ratliff (Lowndes), defensive tackle Geno Atkins (UGA), linebacker Thomas Davis (Randolph-Clay, UGA), linebacker Takeo Spikes (Washington County) and safety Eric Berry (Creekside High).
There are 13 players in their first year of eligibility, including quarterbacks Drew Brees, Philip Rivers and Alex Smith. Others who last played in the 2020 season and under consideration for the first time include: Davis, wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, tight ends Greg Olsen and Jason Witten, running backs Frank Gore and LeSean McCoy, offensive linemen David DeCastro and Maurkice Pouncey, defensive linemen Geno Atkins and Jurrell Casey.
In addition to 15 Modern-Era player finalists, the 50-member Pro Football Hall of Fame selection committee will discuss three Seniors finalists, a Coach finalist and a Contributor finalist as potential members of the Class of 2026.
There is no set number for any class, the selection process bylaws provide that between four and eight new members will be elected.
Because they reached the final seven for the Class of 2025, nominees Willie Anderson, Torry Holt, Luke Kuechly and Adam Vinatieri automatically advance to the final 15 for the Class of 2026.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026 will be enshrined next August.
MODERN-ERA NOMINEES
FOR THE PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2026
*Finalist (final 15) for the Class of 2025. Underline indicates first year of eligibility. (Players must have last played at least five full seasons ago to be eligible for nomination. Therefore, any individual who last played in 2020 is eligible for the first time in 2026.) Bold indicates Georgia ties.
QUARTERBACKS (10): Drew Brees, Randall Cunningham, Jake Delhomme, Rich Gannon, Jeff Garcia, *Eli Manning, Donovan McNabb, Steve McNair, Philip Rivers, Alex Smith.
RUNNING BACKS (21): Shaun Alexander, Mike Alstott (FB), Tiki Barber, Larry Centers (FB), Jamaal Charles, Corey Dillon, Warrick Dunn, Arian Foster, Eddie George, Frank Gore, Priest Holmes, Steven Jackson, Chris Johnson, Thomas Jones, Jamal Lewis (Atlanta Douglass High), Marshawn Lynch, LeSean McCoy, Eric Metcalf (also WR/PR/KR), Lorenzo Neal (FB), *Fred Taylor, Ricky Watters.
WIDE RECEIVERS (18): Anquan Boldin, Donald Driver, Larry Fitzgerald, *Torry Holt, Chad Johnson, Brandon Lloyd, Brandon Marshall, Derrick Mason, Herman Moore, Muhsin Muhammad, Jordy Nelson, Jimmy Smith, Rod Smith, *Steve Smith Sr., Hines Ward (Forest Park, UGA), *Reggie Wayne, Wes Welker, Roddy White.
TIGHT ENDS (6): Vernon Davis, Zach Miller, Greg Olsen, Wesley Walls, Delanie Walker, Jason Witten.
OFFENSIVE LINEMEN (22): *Willie Anderson (T), Matt Birk (C), Lomas Brown (T), Ruben Brown (G), Ryan Clady (T), David DeCastro (G), *Jahri Evans (G), Jordan Gross (T), Ryan Kalil (C), Olin Kreutz (C), Nick Mangold (C), Logan Mankins (G), Tom Nalen (C), Maurkice Pouncey (C), Jeff Saturday (Shamrock High) (C), Josh Sitton (G), Joe Staley (T), Brian Waters (G), Richmond Webb (T), Erik Williams (T), Steve Wisniewski (G), *Marshal Yanda (G).
DEFENSIVE LINEMEN (13): John Abraham (DE also LB), Geno Atkins (UGA, DT), Jurrell Casey (DT), Elvis Dumervil (DE), La’Roi Glover (DT/NT), Robert Mathis (McNair High) (DE), Haloti Ngata (DT), Jay Ratliff (Lowndes High, DE), Simeon Rice (DE), Justin Smith (DE), Ted Washington (NT/DT), Vince Wilfork (DT/NT), Kevin Williams (DT).
LINEBACKERS (14): NaVorro Bowman, Lance Briggs, Tedy Bruschi, Thomas Davis (Randolph-Clay High, UGA), James Farrior, London Fletcher, James Harrison, A.J. Hawk, *Luke Kuechly, Clay Matthews III, Dat Nguyen, Takeo Spikes (Washington County High) , *Terrell Suggs, Lee Woodall.
DEFENSIVE BACKS (15): Eric Berry (Creekside High), Kam Chancellor (S), Nick Collins (S), DeAngelo Hall (DB), Rodney Harrison (S), James Hasty (CB), Carnell Lake (DB), Allen Rossum (DB), Asante Samuel (CB), Patrick Surtain (CB), Earl Thomas (S), Charles Tillman (CB), Troy Vincent (CB), Adrian Wilson (S), *Darren Woodson (S).
PUNTERS/KICKERS (7): David Akers (K), Gary Anderson (K), Jason Hanson (K), John Kasay (Clarke Central High, UGA), Sean Landeta (P), Shane Lechler (P), *Adam Vinatieri (K).
SPECIAL TEAMS (2): Josh Cribbs (KR/PR also WR), Brian Mitchell (KR/PR also RB).
About the Author
Honored by the Pro Football Hall of Fame in recognition of his "long and distinguished reporting in the field of pro football," D. Orlando Ledbetter, Esq. has covered the NFL 28 seasons. A graduate of Howard University, he's a winner of Georgia Sportswriter of the Year and three Associated Press Sports Editor awards.
