Some are locks. Some are long shots. But they all belong in the conversation. It’s been a good few years for former Eagles with Pro Football Hall of Fame aspirations.
Brian Dawkins was enshrined in 2018 in his second year of eligibility, seniors committee candidate Harold Carmichael went in two years later and Eric Allen will be inducted on Saturday.
That’s three Hall of Famers in eight years after three in the previous half century. Not counting guys who only spent a couple years here.
It’s crazy that a franchise that’s been around for 93 years only has seven Hall of Famers who spent more than half their career here: Reggie White, Steve Van Buren, Chuck Bednarik, Pete Pihos, Tommy McDonald, Dawkins and Carmichael.
But they should be joined by several more in the coming years. With Allen about to finally get in after a 24-year wait, this seemed like a good time to look at a dozen current and former Eagles and assess their Hall of Fame chances.
Let’s take a look (in alphabetical order):
Saquon Barkley
This is a tricky one because running back careers are so short and unpredictable and running backs often go from all-pro to out of the league overnight. But there are reasons to think Saquon won’t decline like that. And a couple more big seasons puts Barkley squarely in the picture. And with this offensive line it’s certainly possible.
Barkley’s six years with the Giants were up and down, but he did have two 1,300-yard seasons and a third 1,000-yard season before coming to Philly and putting together one of the greatest seasons ever by a RB.
He’s already got 7,216 career rushing yards, and his 4.7 career rushing average is tied for 7th-highest in history among backs with at least 7,000 rushing yards. Also working for him is his postseason success, mostly last year – 613 yards, seven TDs and a 5.6 rushing average in one playoff game with the Giants and four with the Eagles. That 5.6 is 5th-highest ever by a running back with at least 50 postseason carries.
If Barkley gets the 2,784 yards he needs for 10,000 and keeps his career rushing average at 4.5 or higher, you’d think he’d be in, but Tiki Barber and Fred Taylor aren’t, so who knows?
Most backs are running out of gas in their late 20s, but Barkley has a great opportunity to put up rare numbers for an older back over the next two or three years. His 3.8 yards per carry before contact last year is highest – by far – since Stathead began tracking that stat in 2016. That means he’s picking up nearly four yards before he even gets hit. That sort of production gives him a chance to extend his career and continue piling up big numbers.
Roob’s prediction: Three more seasons averaging, say, 1,500 yards gives Barkley nearly 12,000 yards, and as long as he keeps that average in the mid-4’s they can’t keep him out. All 14 eligible backs with 12,000 yards are in, and I’ll bet Barkley will join them.
Fletcher Cox
Fletch, who’ll be eligible in 2029, has a pretty strong Hall of Fame case, but there are also several things working against him. The positives? His 70 ½ sacks are 11th-most by a pure interior lineman since sacks became an official stat in 1982. He made six consecutive Pro Bowls and four all-pro teams – 1st team in 2018 and 2nd-team in 2014, 2015 and 2017. He started for two Super Bowl teams, winning one. He made the 2010s All-Decade team. Maybe the biggest thing working against Cox is just one 1st-team all-pro. The last interior lineman enshrined in the Hall of Fame who didn’t make at least two all-pro 1st teams is Leroy Selmon, who retired in 1984 and was inducted in 1995. It also won’t help that Cox was never the best lineman in the league, thanks to Aaron Donald. But six Pro Bowls, over 70 sacks, a Super Bowl ring and four 1st- or 2nd-team all-pros is a pretty strong resume. Cox will be eligible for the Hall in 2029.
Roob’s prediction: Cox is deserving. Over the last 25 years, only Geno Atkins and Donald made more Pro Bowls (neither is eligible yet either). It will take a few years, but I believe he will at some point be a Hall of Famer.
Randall Cunningham
Randall is an interesting case because he really changed the way the game is played, and that should be worth something. When he retired after the 2001 season, he was the all-time quarterback rushing leader with nearly 5,000 yards (he’s still fifth). But he also developed into quite a passer despite spending most of his career behind atrocious offensive lines and without elite wide receivers or top offensive coaches. Still, from 1987 through 1990, only Joe Montana (101) and Dan Marino (99) threw more than Randall’s 98 TD passes, and he took the Eagles to the playoffs every year from 1988 through 1992, except 1991, when he was hurt. Then there was his MVP season in 1998 with the Vikings. Including postseason, Cunningham remains one of only three quarterbacks in NFL history with 5,000 rushing yards and 30,000 passing yards (along with Cam Newton and Russell Wilson). Cunningham was 30 games over .500 as a starting quarterback during his 17-year career. What hurts Cunningham’s case: In his last 11 years, he was only a full-time starter three seasons, he only won three career playoff games, he was only a 1st-team all-pro once (in 1998) and he only made one Pro Bowl in his last 11 seasons. He only led the NFL in a major passing category once – passer rating in 1998. Last year was Cunningham’s final year of eligibility for modern-day selection, and his case is now in the hands of the senior’s committee.
Roob’s prediction: At his best, Randall was as good as anybody and nobody was more fun to watch. He was the first NFL QB with two seasons with 30 or more TDs and 13 or fewer INTs. Thanks to injuries, poor coaching and a lack of talent around him, there just weren’t enough of those seasons to get him to Canton.
Zach Ertz
Long-time Eagle put himself back in the Hall of Fame mix with a bounce-back 66-catch, seven-TD 2024 season with Jayden Daniels in Washington. The numbers have quietly piled up for Ertz, who is 6th in NFL history among tight ends with 775 catches and could pass Shannon Sharpe (815) with a good 2025. Every eligible tight end in history with 700 catches is already in the Hall. Ertz also has a 4th-quarter game-winning Super Bowl touchdown catch, some huge postseason numbers (54 postseason catches are 6th-most ever by a tight end) and 12 games with at least 10 catches, 3rd-most by a tight end.
Roob’s prediction: Right now, Ertz is on the outside looking in. But if he keeps playing at the same level for a couple more years – and we know what kind of shape he keeps himself in and we know what kind of quarterback he has now – Ertz could work his way into the mix. Two more 63-catch seasons get him to 900 catches and I don’t know how you keep him out if he gets to 900. The most career catches by a tight end who’s eligible for the Hall of Fame but isn’t in is Heath Miller’s 641. If Ertz beats that by 250, how do you keep him out?
DeSean Jackson
I think a lot of people immediately dismiss DeSean as a one-trick pony. Deep threat and nothing more. That’s just not true. D-Jack finished with 11,263 receiving yards, and when you combine that with his 17.6 career yards-per-catch figure you make a pretty compelling case. Jackson is one of only six WRs with 10,000 yards and at least a 17.0 average, and he’s the only one who began his career after 1978. Only Jackson and James Lofton had 11,000 yards and a 17 average. Then there’s the big plays. Jackson’s 27 total touchdowns of at least 60 yards are most in NFL history (two more than Jerry Rice), and he led the NFL in yards per catch four times. A unique player who was better than you think.
What does Roob say? Jackson, eligible in 2028, has a compelling case, and when you’re the best in NFL history at one particular you deserve consideration. Nobody tracked a deep ball better than DeSean. But no all-pro teams, three Pro Bowls in 15 years (none in his last nine seasons) and no Super Bowl appearances is too much to overcome.
Malcolm Jenkins
Jenkins, who spent six seasons in the middle of his career with the Eagles, made three Pro Bowls and won two Super Bowls – one as a Saint, one as an Eagle – as a safety and defensive leader. The stats don’t really measure Jenkins’ value, but one thing that makes you take notice is his seven career pick-6’s, four with the Eagles. That’s tied for 12th-most in NFL history. Only Eric Allen had more interception return TDs in an Eagles uniform. But Jenkins only had 21 career interceptions in 13 seasons, was never a 1st-team all-pro and only made 2nd-team once, back in 2010 with the Saints. During his career, 12 safeties had more INTs. He’s eligible in 2027.
Roob’s prediction: Jenkins was a very good, very clutch defensive back, and a winner, but he just doesn’t have the body of work for Hall consideration.
Lane Johnson
Johnson’s credentials are impossible to argue with. He’s one of only six offensive tackles in history with six Pro Bowls, multiple 1st-team all-pros and multiple Super Bowl championships. Every OT with six Pro Bowls, two or more Super Bowls and two all-pro 1st teams who’s eligible is already in the Hall of Fame, with the exception of Jim Tyrer, who’s on the outside looking in for non-football reasons. And Johnson should have been a 1st-team all-pro last year as well. Since 2019, Johnson has played 3,031 pass-rush snaps and allowed five sacks. That’s insane. The biggest thing working against Johnson is the two suspensions – four games in 2014 and 10 in 2016. But he’s done so much since then without a positive test that hopefully the voters won’t hold that against him. He’s been the best right tackle in football for nearly a decade. Definitely deserving. And still building his Hall of Fame resume.
Roob’s prediction: Johnson is playing as well as ever, and it’s a shame he was robbed of 1st-team all-pro last year. He may have done enough already. But if he plays a couple more years at a Pro Bowl level, he’ll be a lock. Two more Pro Bowls gives him eight, and 26 of 30 eligible offensive linemen with eight or more Pro Bowls are in Canton.
Seth Joyner
It’s baffling that Joyner has never even been a Hall of Fame finalist. This is an 8th-round draft pick who – including postseason – piled up 27 interceptions and 52 sacks. Irrefutable stat: Joyner is the only player in NFL history with 50 sacks and 25 interceptions. He was one of the key guys on a defense that from 1988 through 1992 allowed just 17 points per game, 3rd-lowest in the NFL. He made three Pro Bowls – he should have made six – and was 2nd-team all-pro twice and in 1991 Defensive Player of the Year runner-up to Pat Swilling and 5th in MVP voting. Joyner was the greatest dual-threat outside linebacker of his generation, a ferocious pass rusher, world-class run stuffer and elite play maker with 26 career forced fumbles on top of his 52 INTs. The Hall of Fame voters should be ashamed of this snub.
Roob’s prediction: I would vote for Seth in a heartbeat. By any measure, he had a Hall of Fame career. But his only shot now is if the senior’s committee begins to understand just how good he was. Wake up, voters.
Jason Kelce
If there’s ever been a slam-dunk 1st-ballot Hall of Famer, it’s Kelce, who would join 1987 enshrinee Jim Langer and 1980 inductee Jim Otto as only the third 1st-ballot center in Hall of Fame history. This is a 6th-round pick who became one of the greatest centers in history. Seven Pro Bowls, six 1st-team all-pros and a Super Bowl championship? No other center has ever done all that. Only Otto, who played in the 1960s and early 1970s, made all-pro first team more than Kelce. First ballot in 2029. No brainer.
Roob’s prediction: Kelce will be the first 1st-ballot Hall of Famer the Eagles drafted since Chuck Bednarik. (Remember, they acquired Reggie White in the supplemental draft.)
LeSean McCoy
I’ll keep waving this flag because Shady deserves to be in Canton. Only three of 19 eligible running backs with 11,000 rushing yards aren’t in the Hall of Fame, and what sets Shady apart is that he also had 15,000 scrimmage yards, 500 catches and a 4.5 rushing average. He’s the only player in NFL history with 11,000 rushing yards, 500 catches and a 4.5 average. He made six Pro Bowls and two 1st-team all-pros and won two Super Bowls as a backup late in his career. Only McCoy and Marshall Faulk have had three seasons with 1,000 yards, a 5.0 average and 50 catches. During the decade from 2010 through 2019, McCoy had nearly 700 more rushing yards than anybody else. Also, McCoy’s 89 career touchdowns are more than 23 modern-era running backs already in the Hall. Shady, who made the All-Decade team for the 2010s, is eligible in 2026. Let’s go!
Roob’s prediction: Shady will eventually get in. The numbers are just overwhelming. His unique combination of rushing yards, receptions, yards per carry and touchdowns is going to be hard for the voters to ignore.
Donovan McNabb
McNabb won nine playoff games, 6th-most in history when he retired and still 13th-most all-time. Every other eligible QB with nine postseason wins is already in the Hall of Fame. And McNabb had success despite only brief stretches with a standout receiver – T.O. in 2004 and part of 2005, DeSean Jackson in 2008 and 2009, Jeremy Maclin also in 2009. McNabb was very good, but a few things will keep him out: 1) He didn’t win a Super Bowl and only five of the 30 quarterbacks in the Hall never won a championship (Warren Moon, Dan Marino, Jim Kelly, Dan Fouts, Fran Tarkenton), 2) He never led the NFL in any passing category, 3) And he had a relatively short period where he was elite. After 2004, his sixth NFL season, he went 42-39 with two playoff wins in his last seven seasons, and 4) He was never a 1st- or 2nd-team all-pro. The Hall of Very Good was made for 5.
Roob’s prediction: After 2004, McNabb was on Hall of Fame pace. But injuries and inconsistency marred the second half of his career. He just didn’t do enough.
Jason Peters
Now that Peters has finally retired, we know his first year of eligibility will be 2029, the same year as former teammates Jason Kelce and Fletcher Cox. Peters is as close to a lock as anybody on this list other than Kelce. His nine Pro Bowls are 6th-most all-time by an offensive tackle, and every eligible offensive tackle with nine is already in the Hall (with the exception of Jim Tyrer for non-football reasons). J.P. is one of the most remarkable stories in NFL history. An undrafted tight end becomes the most dominating left tackle of his generation. No undrafted player in history at any position has made more Pro Bowls. And that torn Achilles in 2012 cost him a year in his prime. He hung around a while – seven years after his last Pro Bowl. He wasn’t the same but he was still good, and that shouldn’t hurt him.
Roob’s prediction: A no-brainer. Peters is an all-timer, and the Eagles got him from the Bills for 1st-, 4th- and 6th-round picks.
