The Pro Football Hall of Fame continues trimming down its list of nominees for induction in 2026. After already announcing coaching and modern-era candidates earlier this week, the lists of seniors and contributors have now been trimmed to 34 and 21, respectively.
Among them are a handful of New England Patriots past and present.
RB Chuck Foreman, WR Henry Ellard, WR Harold Jackson, WR Stanley Morgan
Whereas their Patriots tenures were merely a footnotes in the careers of Chuck Foreman and Henry Ellard, who built their Hall of Fame résumés elsewhere, both Harold Jackson and especially Stanley Morgan had productive multi-year stints with the franchise.
A first-round draft pick by the team in 1977, Morgan spent the first 13 years of his career in New England. The Patriots Hall of Famer appeared in 180 regular season games and seven playoff contests for the team, catching a combined 552 passes for 10,654 yards and 70 touchdowns. A four-time Pro Bowler and one of the best deep threats in league history, he led the NFL in yards per reception three times and also once in receiving touchdowns. Morgan closed out his career with a one-year stint in Indianapolis.
Jackson’s production as a Patriot was less impressive, but he still played a combined 65 of his 222 career games for New England in four seasons between 1978 and 1981. Along the way, he hauled in 157 passes for 3,219 yards and 19 TDs. Most of his total NFL production of 603 catches for 10,920 yards and 81 touchdowns was accomplished as an Eagle and Ram.
Frank “Bucko” Kilroy, Robert Kraft
Both the late Bucko Kilroy and current Patriots owner Robert Kraft are no strangers to making it deep into the contributor voting process without taking the final step toward Canton. The former had a successful career as an executive and also helped create the Scouting Combine, while the latter is the only NFL owner with six Super Bowl rings.
In a next step in the voting process, both the senior and contributor nominees will be reduced to nine semifinalists each. Results of that next round of voting will be announced in early November.