Brees, Fitzgerald headline 2026 HOF nominees

Quarterback Drew Brees and receiver Larry Fitzgerald were picked successful their archetypal twelvemonth of eligibility arsenic 2 of the nominees among modern epoch players for the 2026 Pro Football Hall of Fame class.

Brees and Fitzgerald were 2 of the astir prolific producers successful the passing crippled successful NFL past with Brees ranking 2nd all-time successful yards passing and touchdowns, and Fitzgerald ranking 2nd successful vocation receptions and yards receiving.

Eleven different players successful their archetypal twelvemonth of eligibility were picked among the 128 modern-era nominees for this year's class.

The different nominees successful their archetypal twelvemonth of eligibility are quarterbacks Philip Rivers and Alex Smith; choky ends Greg Olsen and Jason Witten; moving backs Frank Gore and LeSean McCoy; violative linemen David DeCastro and Maurkice Pouncey; antiaircraft linemen Geno Atkins and Jurrell Casey; and linebacker Thomas Davis.

A screening committee volition trim the candidates to 50 successful October with the afloat 50-member enactment committee reducing the database to 25 and past 15 finalists, who volition beryllium voted connected by the enactment gathering earlier the Super Bowl successful February.

Four players person already guaranteed themselves spots successful the last 15 aft making it down to the last 7 players successful the 2025 people with Willie Anderson, Torry Holt, Luke Kuechly and Adam Vinatieri taking those spots.

The different returning finalists are Eli Manning, Fred Taylor, Steve Smith Sr., Reggie Wayne, Jahri Evans, Marshall Yanda, Terrell Suggs and Darren Woodson.

In summation to the 15 modern epoch finalists, the enactment committee volition see 3 seniors, 1 manager and 1 contributor for the Class of 2026. Between 4 and 8 caller members volition beryllium elected successful the 2nd twelvemonth of this existent format.

Only 4 radical got successful past twelvemonth for the smallest people successful 20 years.

Brees and Fitzgerald are the apical caller candidates this year.

Brees is 2nd all-time to Tom Brady with 80,358 yards passing and 571 touchdown passes. He spent the archetypal 5 seasons of his vocation with the San Diego Chargers earlier signing arsenic a escaped cause with the New Orleans Saints successful 2006, wherever his vocation took disconnected arsenic helium helped revive a metropolis inactive recovering from Hurricane Katrina.

Brees delivered New Orleans its archetypal Super Bowl rubric pursuing the 2009 play erstwhile helium won MVP of the crippled aft beating Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts. Brees made the Pro Bowl 13 times successful his career, won AP Offensive Player of the Year successful 2008 and 2011, was an All-Pro successful 2006 and was a second-team All-Pro 4 times.

Fitzgerald spent his full vocation with the Arizona Cardinals aft being drafted 3rd wide successful 2004. His 1,432 catches and 17.492 yards receiving successful 17 seasons ranks 2nd all-time to Jerry Rice.

Fitzgerald topped 1,000 yards receiving 9 times -- tied for the 4th astir ever -- and helped the Cardinals scope their lone Super Bowl pursuing the 2008 season. Fitzgerald acceptable single-season records that postseason with 546 yards receiving and 7 TD catches, including a go-ahead 64-yard people with 2:37 to play earlier Pittsburgh rallied for a 27-23 triumph implicit Arizona.