Now that the 2023 Pro Football Hall of Fame class has been announced, it is time to start to looking ahead to the new list of eligibles for the 2024 class.
The two names that stand out as potential first-ballot Hall of Famers for that class are former Chargers tight end Antonio Gates and Julius Peppers.
Gates is the one that really stands out because he put up some truly unbelievable numbers as a tight end and was one of the most prolific players ever at the position.
His 955 catches and 11,481 receiving yards are both third among tight ends (behind only Tony Gonzalez and Jason Witten), while no player at the position ever caught more than his 116 touchdowns (a number that places him seventh among tight ends and wide receivers).
His career success was also improbable given that he never played football in college. He was a star basketball player at Kent State but was still able to impress the Chargers enough at a workout to sign him to a contract. He went on to become a seven-time Pro Bowl participant and a three-time first-team All-Pro.
All of those accolades would seem to make him a slam dunk first-ballot Hall of Famer.
The only potential negative on his resume is a four-game PED suspension during his career. But that sort of thing does not seem to be as big of an issue with football voters as it is with baseball voters.
Peppers is the other potential first-ballot candidate in next year’s class following a dominant career with the Carolina Panthers, Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers.
The biggest argument in Peppers’ favor is the simple fact his 159.5 sacks place him fifth on the unofficial leaderboard (tracked since 1960) and fourth on the NFL’s official leaderboard (officially tracked since 1982). Every other player in the top-15 on the unofficial list is in the Hall of Fame with the exception of Terrell Suggs, who is not yet eligible.
Pepper was one of the most disruptive edge rushers in the league during his career, not only causing havoc with sacks but also with 52 forced fumbles (second most), 175 tackles for loss (third most) and 11 interceptions as a defensive end/outside linebacker. He also scored six defensive touchdowns.
