"Wait til next year" is a notion that many close to the Pro Football Hall of Fame's selection process are painfully familiar with.
The inherently exclusive club only annually admits a select few new members, leaving out many of the game's most accomplished figures. The ensuing waiting game can seem without end.
But when the latest class is inducted on Saturday, Aug. 8, in Canton, Ohio, the temptation to look ahead to next year's group might be stronger than ever.
When news broke in January that former New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick was not selected in his first year of eligibility, the decision immediately became one of the most infamous in the organization's history. Despite winning the second-most games in league history (333, trailing
only Don Shula's 347) and reigning over the definitive dynasty of the 21st century, Belichick was left to process a snub many are still trying to make sense of nearly seven months later.
Now, there might be unparalleled interest in the selection process for the Class of 2027.
Here are our predictions for next Pro Football Hall of Fame class. (Senior and contributor predictions have been withheld for the time being, given the lack of information and year-to-year churn in each category.)
The Bill Belichick drama comes to an end
What's left to say about last year's all-time stunner of an outcome for the Hall of Fame?
USA TODAY Sports' Jarrett Bell – a Hall of Fame voter – was floored by the omission, calling it an "embarrassment" and "a stain on the Hall of Fame that unnecessarily fuels questions about its legitimacy." Plenty of other voices, both from within and outside of the voting bloc, echoed that sentiment.
Passing over Belichick once might go down as a blight on the Hall's history. Stiff-arming the six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach again would be unconscionable. Details remain scarce about how exactly Belichick fell short of the 80% threshold required for selection, but both he and the Hall should be eager to put last year's aberration behind them.
Still, there could be downstream effects of Belichick's delayed entry. His second go will presumably block off the likes of Mike Shanahan and Mike Holmgren from seizing the coaching category's finalist berth, putting their candidacy on ice until at least 2028. And with the coaching, senior and contributor finalists all having to scrap against one another in the voting setup, Belichick occupying a spot could squeeze out others who have had a long wait.
Rob Gronkowski makes it a double Pats celebration
Upon Gronkowski's initial retirement from the NFL, my colleague Nate Davis laid out a trenchant case for why the Patriots great should be considered the best tight end in league history. In the seven-plus years since then, the case remains compelling.
In an era where his position seemed to shift toward spotlighting glorified jumbo receivers, Gronkowski fulfilled a far weightier ask. His connection with Tom Brady was without equal, but a litany of injuries left him unable to accumulate the statistical profile of some other positional luminaries who enjoyed far longer careers. Still, at his peak, he was one of the most feared matchups on vertical throws and in the open field.
But while the single-season touchdown record for a tight end (17) and other regular-season accomplishments might tell the story for some tight ends, it didn't for Gronkowski. A devastating blocker, his work at the line of scrimmage opened up endless opportunities for Brady and the rest of New England's offense. And he was frequently at his best on the Super Bowl stage, notching the second-most career touchdown catches (five) and third-most receptions (29) and receiving yards (364) of any player in the game en route to four titles.
The outsized Gronk persona no doubt heightened his visibility both on and off the field. Still, here's guessing that any questions about his candidacy get spiked with great force and he joins Belichick in enshrinement.
Adrian Peterson cruises in, too
If Gronkowski is the surefire choice among first-ballot candidates, Peterson isn't far behind.
The four-time All-Pro's 2012 NFL MVP Award is a fitting encapsulation of his case. Not only was Peterson the last running back to earn the honor, which has since become the sole domain of quarterbacks, but he also reached a level of dominance few other ball carriers have touched in the 21st century.
His single-game rushing record of 296 yards, set as a rookie in 2007, still stands. His single-season mark of 2,097 rushing yards in 2012 still stands second in league history. Peterson's feats as a bell-cow back, which include finishing as the league's No. 5 all-time leading rusher, feel inimitable in an era when teams don't construct offenses around a single ground-game figure the way the Minnesota Vikings did with their star.
Peterson had a fairly nomadic and unremarkable finish to his career, playing for six teams in his final five years, but any conversation about "All Day" should be relatively short-lived.
No Ben Roethlisberger, but a wild card makes it in
Without question, Roethlisberger carries a resume warranting inclusion in the Hall of Fame. The only uncertainty is whether he joins Gronkowski and Peterson in making the cut in his first year of eligibility.
It's hardly without precedent for a Hall of Fame class to include three first-ballot selections. Such groups were chosen in 2021, '19 and '18, but that composition hasn't re-emerged since then. It seems entirely possible that the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback could be left to wait at least another year – and potentially more given Brady taking a slot in 2028, his first year of eligibility.
If neither Roethlisberger nor Richard Sherman get in in their first year, that would leave at least one other vacancy, given the minimum requirement of three modern-era selections per class. Who could fill that opening?
Start with Willie Anderson, Terrell Suggs and Marshal Yanda, all of whom automatically qualify as finalists next year after finishing in the top seven this year. The latter two, both Ravens teammates who were in their second year of eligibility, might have more momentum than Anderson, who again came up short in his 13th year of eligibility. Suggs especially stands out as someone whose wait shouldn't extend much further. The seven-time Pro Bowler ranks eighth in league history with 139 career sacks. Of the 13 all-time leaders in that category, only Suggs and Von Miller, who remains unsigned and plans to play this year, have yet to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Several other mainstays at the finalist level could warrant consideration for a long-awaited breakthrough as well. Choosing either Torry Holt, who's reached the penultimate stage for the last six years, or Reggie Wayne, a seven-time finalist, could help break up a longstanding logjam at receiver, which might otherwise only get messier in the coming years. But neither one finished among the top seven, so a resolution might not be imminent.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Bill Belichick in? Predicting 2027 Pro Football Hall of Fame class
