For NFL players, the highest individual achievement is to one day be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
It is an elite club that showcases the absolute best of the best to ever play the sport.
Certain players are a slam dunk, first-ballot Hall of Famers, while others have to wait for years and even decades to get inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Many factors decide whether a player will be inducted into the Pro Football HOF.
Pro Football Reference uses a Hall of Fame metric to determine a player’s likelihood of being inducted.
Below, we list and break down the top 10 active NFL players that will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame when they retire, according to the HOF metric.
Top 10 Active NFL Players That Will Be Inducted Into The Pro Football Hall of Fame
A player is first eligible to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame five years after they retire.
Pro Football Reference gives a Hall of Fame metric on players’ chances and the likelihood of getting inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The higher the metric number, the better the chance of getting inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Three active players just missed out on the top 10 list. Khalil Mack (86.25), Patrick Peterson (83.35), and Russel Wilson (80.44) narrowly missed out on cracking the top 10 list.
We analyze the top 10 active NFL players that will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame below.
10. Jason Peters, T, (86.43)
Jason Peters went from not even being drafted in the 2004 NFL Draft to having one of the best careers for a tackle.
He was selected as the Pro Football Hall of Fame team All-2010s team, has been selected to nine pro bowls, and has two first-team All-Pro.
Peters tore his ACL in 2017 but that year, the Philadelphia Eagles won the Super Bowl, giving Peters his first Super Bowl ring.
The most times in a single year that Peters has been called for holding has been three times.
Since 2004, there have been 13 years that Peters has been called for holding once or less all season.
Pro Football Reference gives Peters an 86.43 Hall of Fame metric, which is the 10th highest among active players.
Peters has had a storied career from going undrafted to becoming one of the best tackles in NFL history.
After a tremendous and long career, Peters will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
9. Vonn Miller, OLB, (97.03)
Vonn Miller has been one of the best pass rushers in the league since he entered the NFL.
Miller was drafted second overall in the 2011 NFL Draft.
He was named the 2011 NFL Associated Press Rookie of the Year.
Miller also won the 2015 NFL Super Bowl MVP and he was selected as the Pro Football Hall of Fame team All-2010s team.
He won the AP Defensive Player of the Year in 2012 and 2016, has been selected to nine Pro Bowls, and three First-Team All-Pro (2012, 2015, and 2016).
Miller is currently 19th in history in sacks recorded.
If he can play another two seasons, Miller will easily crack the top 10 most sacks in NFL history.
He has won two SB rings.
Miller has been one of the best and most feared pass rushers in NFL history and he will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
8. Travis Kelce, TE, (98.22)
Travis Kelce has been the best tight end in the NFL for a while.
Kelce was drafted in the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft.
He was selected as the Pro Football Hall of Fame team All-2010s team.
Kelce has been selected to the Pro Bowl for eight straight years and he was chosen to three First-Team All-Pro (2016, 2018, and 2020).
He has won one Super Bowl.
Kelce ranks fourth in receptions and receiving yards and sixth in receiving TDs among TEs in NFL history.
Pro Football Reference gives him the seventh-highest Hall of Fame metric among all TEs in NFL history.
When Kelce retires, he will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall Of Fame.
7. Bobby Wagner, ILB, (101.33)
Bobby Wagner has been excellent for years.
Wagner was drafted in the second round in the 2012 NFL Draft.
He was selected as the Pro Football Hall of Fame team All-2010s team and the 2012 NFL All-Rookie Team.
Wagner won the 2017 AP Defensive Player of the Year award.
He was chosen to six First-Team All-Pro (2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020).
Wagner has won one Super Bowl.
He was the catalyst of the Seattle Seahawks defense that won a Super Bowl and went to two Super Bowls.
Wagner is top 10 all-time in tackles by a linebacker.
Pro Football Reference gives Wagner the third-highest HOF metric number among all active defensive players in the league.
Wagner has been an excellent leader on defense and he will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
6. Matt Ryan, QB, (105.00)
Matt Ryan comes in with a Pro Football Reference HOF metric of 105.00.
Ryan was the third overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft.
The metric for Ryan seems high as he is listed above QBs like Ben Roethlisberger (two-time SB champion) and Russel Wilson who won a Super Bowl and has appeared in two SBs.
Ryan is seventh in NFL history in passing yards, while Roethlisberger is fifth.
Ryan appeared in one Super Bowl and it is widely considered the biggest choke job by a team in SB history.
He led the Atlanta Falcons to a 28-3 lead in Super Bowl 51 but they squandered the lead and the New England Patriots ended up winning the game.
Ryan won the MVP award and Associated Press Offensive Player of the Year Award, and he was first team All-Pro in 2016.
The metric number is too high for Ryan.
There will be a debate about whether Ryan is a Hall of Famer or not when he retires, which could be as soon as after the 2022 NFL season.
5. Julio Jones, WR, (107.24)
Julio Jones is fifth among active players on the Pro Football Reference’ HOF metric, with a 107.24 metric number.
Jones was drafted sixth overall in the 2011 NFL Draft.
He posted six straight years of having over 1,390 receiving yards or more (2014-2020).
Jones is currently 15th in receiving yards and 20th in receptions among WRs in NFL history.
He was selected to two first team All-Pro (2015 and 2016), Pro Football Hall of Fame team All-2010s, seven pro bowls, and won the 2015 AP Offensive Player of the Year.
For six straight years, Jones was considered a top-two WR in the NFL.
He could make any catch, had the explosive speed to break away from defenders, and was a very reliable target throughout his career.
Unlike his former teammate Matt Ryan, Jones deserves a high HOF metric number.
4. JJ Watt, DE, (126.00)
With JJ Watt ranked fourth on the active player HOF metric number, we get to surefire, first-ballot Hall of Famers.
Watt was the 11th overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft.
He won the AP Defensive Player of the Year three times (2012, 2014, and 2015), and the AP MVP award in 2014.
Watt was selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame team All-2010s.
He had 20.5 sacks in 2012 and 2014, both tied for fourth all-time for a single season in NFL history.
Watt is top 15 in forced fumbles in NFL history.
From 2016-2022, Watt was injured very often, which hindered him from recording more sacks and forced fumbles than he did.
Watt played eight games or less in four years since 2016.
When healthy, there was not a defensive player that was more feared than Watt.
He will retire after the 2022 NFL season and there is a very good chance Watt will be inducted as a first-ballot Hall of Famer in five years.
3. Aaron Donald, DT, (143.85)
Pro Football Reference gives Aaron Donald the second-highest Hall of Fame metric number of all defensive tackles in NFL history.
He was drafted 13th overall in the 2014 NFL Draft.
Donald is not healthy this season but he is widely recognized as the best defensive player in the league for some time now.
He is a Super Bowl champion.
Donald won the AP DPOY in 2017, 2018, and 2020.
He was selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame team All-2010s and seven first-team All-Pro (2015-2021) and won 2014 Defensive Rookie of the Year.
Donald is a game-changer and was a big reason why the Los Angeles Rams won the Super Bowl last year.
He has all the credentials needed to be a Hall of Famer and more.
Donald is still playing at a high level, so he may not retire soon but when he does, he will be a first-ballot HOFer.
2. Aaron Rodgers, QB, (189.94)
Aaron Rodgers has the third-highest Pro Football HOF metric number of any QB in NFL history and he deserves it.
He was drafted 24th overall in the 2005 NFL Draft.
Rodgers has been considered a top 2-3 QB in the league for pretty much his entire career.
He is fifth in passing TDs, ninth in passing yards, second in passer rating, and first in TD: INT ratio among all QBs in NFL history.
Rodgers is a four-time league MVP, has been selected to four first-team All-Pro (2011, 2014, 2020, and 2021), and has won seven Associated Press Offensive Player of the Year awards.
He has won one Super Bowl and was Super Bowl MVP in the win.
Playoff failures have hindered Rodgers’ career and legacy.
A QB of his caliber should have more than one Super Bowl but he was failed by his organization and Rodgers on occasion did not step up in the playoffs.
Still, he is a no doubt first-ballot HOFer.
Talent-wise, it is hard to argue any QB was as talented as Rodgers. The only comparable QB is Patrick Mahomes.
Rodgers will go down as a top 3-5 QB to ever play the game.
1. Tom Brady, QB, (262.61)
Well, there was no doubt about which player had the highest Pro Football Reference HOF metric number than the GOAT.
Tom Brady’s metric number is the highest of any player ever.
You would think Brady was selected in the top five of the first round of the NFL Draft but he was not selected till the sixth round in the 2000 NFL Draft.
If you felt Brady was in every Super Bowl throughout his career, it was because he pretty much was.
Brady is a seven-time Super Bowl-winning QB and he has been in 10 Super Bowls.
He has played in five more Super Bowls than John Elway, who is second in SB appearances.
Brady has won three more Super Bowls than Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw, who are second on the list for most SB wins by a QB.
He is first in passing yards by almost 9,000 passing yards and he currently has 77 more passing TDs than Drew Brees, who is second in passing TDs in league history.
Brady has won three MVPs, two OPOYs, three first-team All-Pro, and was selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame team All-2010s.
When Brady decides to retire, which seems like it will be in about 20 years, he will be known as the greatest to ever play in the NFL and is the most obvious first-ballot Hall of Famer ever.
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