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Who's a Hall of Famer? If no Belichick, Brees and Fitzgerald should be easy picks
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- Who's a Hall of Famer? If no Belichick, Brees and Fitzgerald should be easy picks
The Belichick bombshell , combined with the task of reading the minds of 50 voters, makes it sheer guesswork in predicting who will make the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2026, to be announced Thursday night, Feb. 5.
The task is a bit easier given leaks leading to widespread reports that finalists Bill Belichick, Robert Kraft and Eli Manning were rejected in the recent election meeting.
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Rather than wagering a prediction on who will go in, I'll simply declare who would have been on my ballot from among 20 overall finalists.
Belichick would have been an easy yes, based on his overwhelming Super Bowl and regular-season record with the Patriots , which rendered his work with the Browns ancient history.
From among the three seniors committee player candidates, Roger Craig, Ken Anderson and L.C. Greenwood, I'd have preferred under-appreciated ex-Brown Clay Matthews , but he wasn't a finalist. I'd have voted for one, Craig, who was from the dynasty-era 49ers.
From the group of modern-era players, my first "yes" would have been for receiver Larry Fitzgerald . Unlike finalist Reggie Wayne, most of whose catches came from Peyton Manning , Fitzgerald's were from everybody and his brother. Plus, "Fitz" is second to Rice in career receiving yards.
Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald and New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees talk after a game, Dec. 18, 2016, in Glendale, Arizona.
Drew Brees is a "yes" for me . My three no-brainers this year are Belichick, Fitzgerald and Brees, with Belichick No. 1.
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Put me down for another "yes" on Bengals right tackle Willie Anderson, a perennial finalist. Like Cleveland's Joe Thomas, it wasn't his fault he was stuck on too many bad teams.
Cincinnati Bengals offensive tackle Willie Anderson is congratulated by wide receiver coach Hue Jackson after a 38-31 win at the Pittsburgh Steelers, Dec. 4, 2005.
Don't tell one of my sons-in-law, who was a Cincinnati St. Xavier High School classmate of Luke Kuechly , but Kuechly is a "no" for me, based on a short career (eight years), although probably a "yes" some other time.
Instead, my last 2026 "yes" is for receiver Torry Holt, over Wayne, based on similar excellence with lesser quarterbacks than Peyton Manning for much of his career.
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The actual class was elected, although results were supposed to be secret until Thursday, by a 50-person group.
I don't recall an uproar anything like the Belichick rebuff.
Most of the voters put down a "yes" for Belichick. The 11 who reportedly didn't have made life uncomfortable for both the election panel and the Hall. A number of the "yes" voters have come forward basically to say, "Don't blame me."
Who votes for the Pro Football Hall of Fame?
The Hall's official website lists all 50 voters at the end of an explanation of the election process. The Hall of Fame approves the voters. Most are media people. Four are Hall of Fame enshrines: Tony Dungy, Dan Fouts, James Lofton and Bill Polian.
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Just before listing the voters, the official website includes this interesting paragraph:
"It is important to emphasize that the Hall of Fame itself has no say whatsoever as to who is or is not elected to membership. The functions of the Hall staff include processing the nominations as they arrive and coordinating the voting − in partnership with auditors from Ernst & Young LLP − and holding annual meetings."
This comes from the Hall's election process page:
"The (voting) Committee consists of one media representative from each pro football city with two each from Los Angeles and New York, inasmuch as those cities have two teams in the National Football League. A 33rd member is a representative of the Pro Football Writers of America, and there are up to 17 at-large delegates.
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"With the exception of the PFWA representative, who is appointed for a two-year term, all appointments are reviewed annually and approved by the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Board of Directors."
The Directors, a group of 30, mostly are a combination of NFL luminaries and community/business leaders either living in Stark County or with Stark County ties. It includes NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, Hall of Famers Jerry Jones, Curtis Martin, Warren Moon and Anthony Munoz, and three representatives from NFL ownership (in addition to Jones), Mark Davis (Raiders), JW Johnson ( Browns ) and Edward Policy ( Packers ).
Here is a link to the complete list of Directors .
Reach Steve at steve.doerschuk@cantonrep.com
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The Canton Repository sports department can be contacted via email at sports@cantonrep.com .
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Predicting the Hall of Fame's 2026 Class. Here's who should be in
