Former New Orleans Saints standouts Drew Brees and Jahri Evans have reached the semifinalist stage for possible election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026.
A pair of New Orleans natives — former Isidore Newman School star Eli Manning and former John Ehret High School standout Reggie Wayne — also are among the 26 semifinalists announced by Hall officials on Tuesday.
Brees is one of five first-year-eligible players to make the list, joining Larry Fitzgerald, Frank Gore, Philip Rivers and Jason Witten.
Among the semifinalists, Willie Anderson, Tory Holt, Luke Kuechly and Adam Vinatieri will advance automatically to the finalist stage since they finished in the top seven of voting for election a year ago and two players. Lomas Brown and Kevin Williams are semifinalists for the first time.
Brees, who retired from the Saints in 2020, is trying to become the first Saints player to be elected on the first ballot of his Hall of Fame candidacy. He would join Rickey Jackson (Class of 2010), Willie Roaf (2012), Morten Andersen (2017) and Sam Mills (2022) on the list of Hall of Famers who played the majority of their careers in New Orleans.
Brees led the Saints to their only Super Bowl title in 2009 and is the only player in club history win the league’s Offensive Player of the Year Award, which he did in 2008 and 2011. He was a 13-time Pro Bowler and holds every major club passing record in team annals.
For 11 seasons, Evans anchored one of the most prolific offenses in NFL history and became one of the most decorated linemen ever for the Saints. He was named to the NFL's 2010s All-Decade Team and earned first-team All-Pro honors four times. He was inducted into the Saints Ring of Honor on Sunday.
Evans has been a semifinalist in each of his three seasons of eligibility. He advanced to the finalist stage the past two years.
Manning passed for more than 57,000 yards and 366 touchdowns during his 16-year career with the Giants. A first-round draft pick in 2004 out of Ole Miss by the then-San Diego Chargers, Manning was quickly traded to the Giants, where he led the club to six playoff appearances and three NFC East Division titles.
Manning, who is in his second year on the ballot, was a finalist last year. He is trying to join older brother Peyton and become the first set of brothers to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Peyton Manning was inducted into the Hall in 2021.
Wayne is a semifinalist for the seventh consecutive year. He had 14,345 yards on 1,070 receptions with 82 touchdowns for the Colts from 2001-2014. He ranks 10th all-time in both receiving yards and receptions and was a six-time Pro Bowler. He earned first-team AP All-Pro honors in 2010. He didn't miss a game between 2002-2012, and his streak of 189 consecutive games played is the third-longest by a wide receiver in NFL history.
The Class of 2026 can consist of three to five modern-era players under the Hall of Fame’s bylaws. In addition to 15 modern-era finalists, the selection committee will discuss three seniors finalists, a coach finalist and a contributor finalist as potential members of the Class of 2026.
Finalists must receive at least 80% support from the selection committee to join the Class of 2026. The Hall’s 50-person selection committee will vote to reduce the list to 15 finalists in December. The selection meeting is ahead of Super Bowl LX in San Francisco.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2026 will be enshrined in August.
HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2026 SEMIFINALISTS
OFFENSE (17)
QB (3): Drew Brees, Eli Manning, Philip Rivers
RB (2): Frank Gore, Fred Taylor
WR (5): Larry Fitzgerald, Torry Holt, Steve Smith Sr., Hines Ward, Reggie Wayne
TE (1): Jason Witten
OL (6): Willie Anderson, Lomas Brown, Jahri Evans, Richmond Webb, Steve Wisniewski, Marshal Yanda
DEFENSE (8)
DB (3): Rodney Harrison, Earl Thomas, Darren Woodson
LB (2): Luke Kuechly, Terrell Suggs (also DE)
DL (3): Robert Mathis (also LB), Vince Wilfork, Kevin Williams
SPECIAL TEAMS (1)
K (1): Adam Vinatieri