Class of 2024 Countdown: Tonight's the Night

The Pro Football Hall-of-Fame’s Class of 2024 will be revealed Thursday evening at the NFL Honors Show in Las Vegas … but that’s all we know. What we believe, however, is that former defensive end Julius Peppers will be one of the five modern-era inductees, mostly because he’s the most decorated finalist in this class.

He ranks fourth all-time in sacks, second in career forced fumbles and had more pick-sixes (4) than any defensive lineman. Ever. He was also a two-time all-decade choice, seven-time All-Pro, nine-time Pro Bowler and played in more games (266) than every defensive lineman outside of Hall-of-Famer Bruce Smith and Jim Marshall.

In other words, Julius Peppers should be a no-brainer.

Peppers is in his first year of eligibility as is former Chargers’ tight end Antonio Gates. Like Peppers, Gates is another first-ballot favorite, and you don’t have to look far for reasons why:

--- He had 116 career touchdowns, more than all tight ends. That includes Tony Gonzalez, a first-ballot Hall of Famer in 2019.

--- His 116 TDs are more than all but six receivers, including all three on this year’s ballot.

--- He was an eight-time Pro Bowler, more than any finalist in this year's class but Peppers.

--- Voters love first-ballot choices. They’ve chosen 14 the past seven years, or 40 percent of the classes, including three each in 2018, 2019 and 2021.

So they’re the favorites. But so is a wide receiver ... any wide receiver ... and there are three on the board: Andre Johnson, Reggie Wayne and Torry Holt. All three were Top-10 finishers last year, and voters are determined to break the bottleneck -- which means at least one moves forward. 

Given the choice, Johnson would seem the most likely. He’s been a Top-10 finalist in his two years of eligibility and, unlike the others, doesn’t follow a Hall-of-Fame teammate at the position. So, in all likelihood, at least one wide receiver will be elected. 

But how about two? It’s a possibility. In six of the previous seven years, voters have chosen two modern-era players from the same position – including 2018 when they chose four to two positions (linebacker Brian Urlacher and Ray Lewis and wide receivers Terrell Owens and Randy Moss).

But enough. Let’s go to the big board and introduce the candidates for the Class of 2024. They are …

MODERN-ERA (15)

ERIC ALLEN, CB – 1988-94 Philadelphia Eagles; 1995-97 New Orleans Saints; 1998-2001 Oakland Raiders.

JARED ALLEN, DE – 2004-07 Kansas City Chiefs; 2008-13 Minnesota Vikings; 2014-15 Chicago Bears; 2015 Carolina Panthers.

WILLIE ANDERSON, OT – 1996-2007 Cincinnati Bengals; 2008 Baltimore Ravens.

JAHRI EVANS, OG – 2006-16 New Orleans Saints; 2017 Green Bay Packers.

DWIGHT FREENEY, DE/LB – 2002-12 Indianapolis Colts; 2013-14 San Diego Chargers; 2015 Arizona Cardinals; 2016 Atlanta Falcons; 2017 Seattle Seahawks.; 2017 Detroit Lions.

ANTONIO GATES, TE – 2003-18 San Diego Chargers.

RODNEY HARRISON, S – 1994-2002 San Diego Chargers; 2003-08 New England Patriots.

DEVIN HESTER, PR/KR, WR – 2006-13 Chicago Bears; 2014-15 Atlanta Falcons; 2016 Baltimore Ravens.

TORRY HOLT, WR – 1999-2008 St. Louis Rams; 2009 Jacksonville Jaguars.

ANDRE JOHNSON, WR – 2003-14 Houston Texans; 2015 Indianapolis Colts; 2016 Tennessee Titans.

JULIUS PEPPERS, DE – 2002-09, 2017-18 Carolina Panthers; 2010-13 Chicago Bears; 2014-15 Green Bay Packers.

FRED TAYLOR, RB – 1998-2008 Jacksonville Jaguars; 2009-10 New England Patriots.

REGGIE WAYNE, WR – 2001-14 Indianapolis Colts.

PATRICK WILLIS, LB – 2007-14 San Francisco 49ers.

DARREN WOODSON, S – 1992-2003 Dallas Cowboys.

COACH/CONTRIBUTOR (1)

BUDDY PARKER, head coach – Chicago Cards (1949); Detroit Lions (1951-56); Pittsburgh Steelers (1957-64).

SENIORS (3)

RANDY GRADISHAR, LB – 1974-83 Denver Broncos.

ART POWELL, WR – Philadelphia Eagles 1959; N.Y. Titans 1960-62; Oakland Raiders 1963-66; Buffalo Bills 1967; Minnesota Vikings 1968.

STEVE McMICHAEL, DT – New England Patriots 1980; Chicago Bears 1981-93; Green Bay Packers 1994.

NOTE: The Hall’s board of selectors was scheduled to meet in person in mid-January, its first face-to-face session since February, 2020. However, an Arctic freeze that swept the country compelled the Hall to cancel the meeting and make it a fourth consecutive virtual vote.

It lasted eight-and-a-half hours.

In the end, five modern-era players were chosen after first reducing the field of 15 to 10 and then reducing that group to five. To gain enshrinement, the five must gain 80 percent of the final vote, which they did. The coach/contributor and senior candidates were chosen after all were presented at the outset of the meeting. Each was subjected to a “yes” or “no” vote, with 80 percent approval needed for election.

The Class of 2024 will be inducted in Canton on Saturday, Aug. 3, at the Pro Football Hall of Fame as part of the Hall's 2024 Enshrinement Week.