Let the (preseason) video games start.
With the Detroit Lions-Los Angeles Chargers Professional Soccer Corridor of Fame Sport kicking off 2025 motion, Yardbarker NFL writers mulled a participant — previous or current — on every AFC workforce who deserves enshrinement in Canton.
AFC East
BUFFALO BILLS | LB Von Miller | Because the NFL’s lively chief in sacks (129.5), Miller — who’s now with the Commanders — is a positive wager for the Corridor of Fame though he missed 14 video games in three years with Buffalo. In 10 seasons with Denver, Miller earned a Defensive Rookie of the Yr award, made eight Professional Bowls and three All-Professional groups and was named MVP of Tremendous Bowl 50, the final defensive participant to win the award.
MIAMI DOLPHINS | WR Tyreek Hill | His subpar 2024 season apart (81 catches, 959 yards, six TD catches), the 31-year-old receiver boasts a Corridor of Fame resume (eight Professional Bowls and 5 first-team All-Professional nods in 9 years). Hill led NFL receivers with 1,799 yards in 2023 and has six 1,000-yard seasons in his profession, two fewer than Cris Carter, who spent the final 5 video games of his Corridor of Fame profession with Miami.
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS | Kicker Adam Vinatieri | The NFL’s all-time main scorer (2,673 factors) narrowly missed induction as a finalist in 2025, his first 12 months of eligibility, and will probably be an automated finalist in 2026. Vinatieri, who retired in 2021, holds information for many area objectives made within the common season (599) and playoffs (56) and helped the Patriots win three Tremendous Bowls earlier than successful one other with the Colts in 2007.
NEW YORK JETS | QB Aaron Rodgers | The enigmatic passer disenchanted as a Jet, however 4 first-team All-Professional honors, 4 NFL MVP awards and a Tremendous Bowl MVP with the Inexperienced Bay Packers can’t be missed. Rodgers’ 62,952 passing yards are the seventh most in league historical past, and his 4.34 touchdown-to-interception ratio is the most effective of any quarterback, previous or current. — Bruce Ewing
AFC West
DENVER BRONCOS | WR Rod Smith | Smith performed a key function when the Broncos repeated as Tremendous Bowl champions within the 1997 and 1998 seasons. The three-time Professional Bowler had 152 receiving yards in a 34-19 Tremendous Bowl XXXIII win over the Atlanta Falcons, tied for the sixth most in a Tremendous Bowl. The undrafted WR starred for Denver from 1995-2006, changing into the membership’s profession chief in receiving yards (11,389).
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS | QB Patrick Mahomes | Star tight finish Travis Kelce can be a wonderful decide, too, however the Chiefs had gained just one Tremendous Bowl earlier than Mahomes turned the starter in the course of the 2018 season. The 2017 first-round decide has gained three Tremendous Bowls and two MVPs in eight seasons with the Chiefs. Anticipate Mahomes, who turns 30 on Sept. 17, to maintain bolstering his stellar resume.
LOS ANGELES CHARGERS | QB Philip Rivers | Rivers, who retired as a Charger in July, by no means reached a Tremendous Bowl throughout his profession, however neither did former Chargers QB Dan Fouts. That didn’t stop him from making the HOF in 1993. The identical ought to go for eight-time Professional Bowler Rivers, who ranks sixth in profession TD passes (421).
LAS VEGAS RAIDERS | Guard Steve Wisniewski | It’s shocking Wisniewski isn’t in Canton already. Per Pro Football Reference, his HOF monitor rating (76.58) is larger than that of HOF guard Mike Munchak (72.7). The previous O-lineman can also be a member of the HOF’s All-Nineteen Nineties workforce. — Clark Dalton
AFC North
BALTIMORE RAVENS | LB Terrell Suggs | Suggs, who performed from 2003-19, and former Ravens guard Marshal Yanda have been finalists for the 2025 class however missed out. Suggs was one of many extra dominant pass-rushers of his period, accumulating 139 profession sacks, incomes seven Professional Bowl nods, one first-team All-Professional, a Defensive Participant of the Yr award and an NFL-record 202 tackles for loss. He was a key a part of two Tremendous Bowl winners.
CINCINNATI BENGALS | QB Ken Anderson | The Bengals didn’t win a Tremendous Bowl throughout Anderson’s profession (1971-86), however that’s just about the one factor separating him from different Corridor of Fame quarterbacks, particularly from his period within the Nineteen Seventies. Anderson has an NFL MVP award and led the league in passing twice, completion proportion thrice and passer ranking 4 instances.
CLEVELAND BROWNS | Edge Myles Garrett | Garrett remains to be lively, but it surely’s not exhausting to see the trail his profession is on. He has been the extra dominant pass-rusher within the league from just about the day he arrived. He might not win a title in Cleveland, however he’s going to complete as the most effective Browns gamers of all time and the most effective defenders of the fashionable period within the NFL.
PITTSBURGH STEELERS | QB Ben Roethlisberger | Roethlisberger, who retired in 2022, doesn’t have many particular person accolades, however spending almost 20 years as one of many prime quarterbacks within the NFL and incomes two Tremendous Bowl rings will probably be greater than sufficient to get him in. It’s only a matter of how lengthy he may need to attend for induction. — Jack Dougherty
AFC South
HOUSTON TEXANS | DE J.J. Watt | Extensively thought of to be a first-ballot lock, Watt — who retired following the 2022 season — will probably be eligible for the Corridor of Fame in 2028. His profession might have been even higher if not for a number of seasons being shortened by damage, however Watt is one among solely three gamers to win three NFL Defensive Participant of the Yr awards. Few gamers have been able to altering the sport the best way a wholesome Watt might.
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS | Kicker Adam Vinatieri | The three-time Professional Bowl choice made 29 game-winning kicks in his profession, together with two that gained Tremendous Bowls for the Patriots. Vinatieri has 4 Tremendous Bowl rings and may very well be thought of probably the most clutch kicker of all time. There are 4 kickers within the Corridor of Fame, and it’s virtually inconceivable to argue in opposition to Vinatieri changing into the fifth.
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS | RB Fred Taylor | The wait continued in 2025 for Taylor, a Corridor of Fame finalist for the second straight 12 months, however he didn’t get the nod. Taylor, who retired in 2011, ranks seventeenth in NFL historical past with 11,695 dashing yards and holds quite a few Jaguars information. The one working again forward of him on the all-time dashing listing who shouldn’t be within the Corridor of Fame is Frank Gore, and he’s prone to get into Canton ultimately.
TENNESSEE TITANS | RB Derrick Henry | Titans legends Eddie George and Steve McNair superior within the Corridor of Fame voting course of for 2025, however there’s a good likelihood neither will get into Canton. Henry, in the meantime, is already nineteenth on the NFL’s all-time rushing list with 11,423 yards and coming off a season during which he ran for 1,921 yards. Henry, who spent the vast majority of his profession in Tennessee, ought to be a first-ballot Corridor of Famer. — Steve DelVecchio
