First Ballot in our hearts doesn’t mean they’re on every ballot around the league
The NFL announced the 2025 class for the Hall of Fame last night. The four person class included former Carolina Panthers defensive end Jared Allen (2015), but excluded Panthers legends Steve Smith Sr and Luke Kuechly. Smith was in his third year of eligibility for the Hall of Fame, while Kuechly was in his first.
This was a tough year to get into the Hall of Fame with a ton of big name competition. Finalists such as Eli Manning, Terrell Suggs, Fred Taylor, and Reggie Wayne didn’t even make the cut to the final seven. While it is a shame that neither of our guys made it in, they still have a chance.
Smith is still a Top Ten all-time receiver despite being out of football for eight seasons now and never having played with a quarterback better than Jake Delhomme or Joe Flacco. The silver lining for Smith is that there are not a lot of other wide receivers currently in the conversation. Torry Holt is the only wide receiver currently getting more votes than Smith. With Gate’s selection as a tight end, that’s also one fewer pass catcher of any kind taking up oxygen in the room next year. Meanwhile, the chip grows on Smitty’s shoulder for another year.
Kuechly has a similar to better resume than either Patrick Willis (his closest comp) or Brian Urlacher. Willis, whose career was remarkably similar to Kuechly’s, was enshrined in his third year of eligibility and lacked the shiny Defensive Player of the Year award that tops Kuechly’s resume. My money is on next year.
Thanks to new rules for the Hall of Fame, Kuechly is an automatic finalist next season along with Willie Anderson, Adam Vinatieri, and Holt. The 15 finalists were cut to a list of ten, then seven per the Hall of Fame. 80% of the vote was required to be elected to the Hall of Fame, the remaining members of the top seven were then automatically advanced as finalists for the Class of 2026.