Pro Football Hall of Fame Modern-Era nominees for 2026 class has one of the greatest Bengals of all-time in pristine company

Former Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle Geno Atkins is a nominee to be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

A fourth-round pick of the Bengals during the 2010 NFL Draft, Atkins was a two-time All-Pro and eight-time Pro Bowler during his 11-year NFL career. He played every single down of his career with Cincinnati, and racked up 75.5 sacks.

Atkins is in his first year of eligibility to be enshrined and is one of thirteen former greats to be nominated for the very first time as early as possible. Players must be at least five years removed from playing to be considered for induction. Atkins last played in 2020.

Geno Atkins joins elite group of Modern-Era Hall of Fame nominees

Atkins is accompanied by 12 other greats from this century of NFL football. QB Drew Brees, DT Jurrell Casey, LB Thomas Davis, G David DeCastro, WR Larry Fitzgerald, RB Frank Gore, RB LeSean McCoy, TE Greg Olsen, C Maurkice Pouncey, QB Philip Rivers, QB Alex Smith, and TE Jason Witten are the other first-time eligible nominees.

Making the initial 128 is just the beginning for Atkins and Co. The list will be whittled down to a significantly smaller number over the next several months by the 50-person selection committee.

How the Pro Football Hall of Fame selection process works

• 128 nominees will be reduced to 50 plus ties in mid-October.
• 50 nominees will be reduced to 25 Semifinalists later in the year.
• 25 Semifinalists will be reduced to 15 Finalists ahead of Super Bowl LX.
• A minimum of three and a maximum of five Modern-Era finalists will be voted in to the class of 2026.

Should Atkins make it to the final 15, he'll be joined by another former Bengals great in Willie Anderson. A three-time All-Pro himself, Anderson has been a finalist four times this decade, and since he made it to the final seven this past year, he's guaranteed to be a finalist again this winter.

Cincinnati also has several senior player nominees this year as Ken Anderson, Jim Breech, Issac Curtis, Max Montoya, and Lemar Parrish can also be enshrined as a senior inductees.

Atkins is one of the best players in Bengals history, and certainly the greatest who had yet to be a Hall of Fame nominee. If he doesn't get in this time, this will surely not be the last year he makes the Modern-Era list.