Projecting future Hall of Famers for all 32 NFL teams

Projecting future Hall of Famers for all 32 NFL teams

Bill Barnwell
ESPN Staff Writer


Los Angeles Rams
Lock (100%): DT Aaron Donald. Donald clinched his gold jacket when he won his second Defensive Player of the Year award. With five consecutive first-team All-Pro appearances, he could retire tomorrow and get in without any questions.

In the running (40% to 69%): CB Jalen Ramsey. He has now made three consecutive Pro Bowls, although his only first-team All-Pro nod came in 2017. Moving to a higher-profile, more successful team will help Ramsey's chances of drawing national attention, although he wasn't close to Stephon Gilmore or Tre'Davious White a year ago. Given the ages of Gilmore and Patrick Peterson, Ramsey is neck-and-neck with White and Marshon Lattimore as the likely best cornerback in football over the next five years.

Work to do (10% to 39%): QB Jared Goff, OT Andrew Whitworth, P Johnny Hekker. Goff took a major step backward in 2019 and doesn't appear to be on the same level as the other top quarterbacks in the conference. Whitworth was criminally underrated during his time in Cincinnati, earning just one Pro Bowl nod during his first nine seasons with the Bengals. He has two first-team All-Pro appearances over the past five years, but it's likely too little, too late.

Hekker's case is interesting. The only player in the Hall of Fame primarily for his work as a punter is Ray Guy, and you could make a case that Hekker is on that track. Guy earned six Pro Bowl nominations and three All-Pro picks before turning 30. Hekker got a two-season head start, but he has been a first-team All-Pro four times before turning 30 in February. Guy got some help because the Raiders drafted him with their first-round pick, while Hekker gets extra attention because of his propensity for fakes. Guy made only one Pro Bowl after turning 30, and Hekker probably needs a couple more All-Pro appearances to earn serious consideration.

Full Article--
[www.espn.com]