The Pro Football Hall of Fame has announced its initial list of 128 Modern-Era Players who have been nominated for the 2026 class, which includes the following former Green Bay Packers:
- WR Donald Driver
- WR Jordy Nelson
- OG Jahri Evans
- OG Josh Sitton
- OC Jeff Saturday
- OLB Clay Matthews III
- ILB A.J. Hawk
- S Nick Collins
- CB/returner Allen Rossum
None of these players
is first-time eligible, so they’ve been passed up by the Pro Football Hall of Fame for at least one class in the past. Last year, the only former Packer who made the Modern Era finalist cut (last 15) was guard Jahri Evans, who played just one year with the team in 2017 but had spent the previous 11 seasons with the New Orleans Saints.
Evans has been a member of the Saints’ coaching staff for the last three years. Clearly, he has stronger ties to the program where he was named a five-time All-Pro and a six-time Pro Bowler than to Green Bay.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame also announced that it will be cutting this list of 128 to 50 by mid-October. This list skews toward offensive players, as 77 were nominated compared to only 42 defenders and 9 special teamers.
I think that Evans and Jeff Saturday, who was benched in his lone year with the Packers in 2012, will eventually get in. It’s hard to imagine that the other former Packers will, though, aside from Clay Matthews III. With that being said, the fact that Matthews was only an All-Pro twice in his career might make that an uphill climb. Finishing second for Defensive Player of the Year back in 2010, in a tight race with Troy Polamalu, could ultimately have been the deciding factor on whether or not he’ll make it into Canton.
Matthews shined bright during his peaks, but he only recorded more than eight sacks just four times in his NFL career, and only did it consecutively in his first two seasons in the league.
