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Antonio Gates headlines list of new nominees for Pro Football Hall of Fame

Associated Press
·5 min read

Three-time All-Pro Antonio Gates, who starred in basketball at Kent State, headlines the list of nine first-year eligible players picked among the 273 nominees for the 2024 class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He joins Julius Peppers, another three-time All-Pro, among a decorated list of newly eligible players.

The other first-year eligibles are receivers Brandon Marshall and Jordy Nelson; running back Jamaal Charles; offensive linemen T.J. Lang, Josh Sitton and Max Unger; and defensive tackle Haloti Ngata.

The nine new candidates combined for 42 Pro Bowl berths, 12 first-team All-Pro selections, with five of the nine winning Super Bowls and Peppers and Gates making all-decade teams. Peppers also won the Defensive Rookie of the Year award in 2002 and Nelson was picked as Comeback Player of the Year in 2016.

Los Angeles Chargers tight end Antonio Gates (85) walks off the field following the game against the Miami Dolphins at StubHub Center.
Los Angeles Chargers tight end Antonio Gates (85) walks off the field following the game against the Miami Dolphins at StubHub Center.

Peppers and Gates were both college basketball players before finding their greatest success in football.

Gates only played basketball in college — helping Kent State reach the Elite Eight in 2002 — before turning into one of the NFL's top tight ends ever when he switched to football as a pro after going undrafted.

Antonio Gates during a game against the Steelers in 2018.
Antonio Gates during a game against the Steelers in 2018.

The Chargers took a chance on him and it paid off in a big way as he became an All-Pro in just his second season in 2004. He was All-Pro again the next two seasons and went on to have a 16-year career for the team.

Gates finished with 955 catches for 11,841 yards and an NFL record for tight ends 116 touchdown receptions. Only Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez and Jason Witten have more catches or yards as a tight end.

Antonio Gates
Antonio Gates

Peppers was one of the league's most dominant defensive linemen after being picked second overall by Carolina in 2002 following a two-sport career in college at North Carolina.

He had 12 sacks as a rookie and never really slowed down in a 17-year career that included stops in Chicago and Green Bay before ending with the Panthers. He was an All-Pro in 2004, 2006 and 2010.

Julius Peppers
Julius Peppers

Peppers finished his career with 159 1/2 sacks — the fourth most since they became official in 1982 — and had 10 seasons with double-digit sacks. Only Hall of Famers Bruce Smith (13) and Reggie White (12) had more.

The list will be reduced to 25 semifinalists in November and to 15 finalists in January before the selection committee discusses and chooses the class of 2023 that will be enshrined in August.

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Jordy Nelson (87) does the Lambeau Leap near Stephen Pfeil (left), of Madison and Sean Sanchez of Denver, after Nelson scored a 2nd quarter touchdown.at Lambeau Field on Sunday, January 5, 2014.
Green Bay Packers wide receiver Jordy Nelson (87) does the Lambeau Leap near Stephen Pfeil (left), of Madison and Sean Sanchez of Denver, after Nelson scored a 2nd quarter touchdown.at Lambeau Field on Sunday, January 5, 2014.

The 15 finalists will be trimmed to 10 and then five during the selection meeting early next year. The final five candidates will need to get 80% of the votes from the panel to get into the Hall.

The roster of nominees consists of 67 offensive players, 50 defensive players and 12 special teamers.

Darren Woodson of the Dallas Cowboys celebrates during a game against the Arizona Cardinals at Texas Stadium, Oct. 28, 2001.
Darren Woodson of the Dallas Cowboys celebrates during a game against the Arizona Cardinals at Texas Stadium, Oct. 28, 2001.

Finalists from 2022 re-nominated for next year are Devin Hester, Torry Holt, Andre Johnson, Reggie Wayne, Willie Anderson, Jared Allen, Dwight Freeney, Patrick Willis and Darren Woodson.

The committee will also consider former Lions and Steelers coach Buddy Parker in the coaching category and three senior candidates: Randy Gradishar, Steve McMichael and Art Powell.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Vinny Testaverde (14) scrambles under pressure from Chicago Bears Steve McMichael (76) at Tampa Stadium during the 1988 season.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Vinny Testaverde (14) scrambles under pressure from Chicago Bears Steve McMichael (76) at Tampa Stadium during the 1988 season.

They also will get in if they get support from at least 80% of voters.

The full list of modern-era nominees follows below:

Modern-era nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2024

*Finalist in 2023. Players must have last played at least five full seasons ago to be eligible for nomination. Therefore, any individual who last played in 2018 is eligible for the first time in 2024.

  • QUARTERBACKS (10): Marc Bulger, Randall Cunningham, Jake Delhomme, Doug Flutie, Rich Gannon, Jeff Garcia, Donovan McNabb, Steve McNair, Tony Romo, Michael Vick

Eagles quarterback Randall Cunningham runs with the ball against Washington in Philadelphia on Nov. 9, 1987.
Eagles quarterback Randall Cunningham runs with the ball against Washington in Philadelphia on Nov. 9, 1987.

  • RUNNING BACKS (33): Shaun Alexander, Terry Allen, Mike Alstott, Jamal Anderson, Tiki Barber, Michael Bates (also KR), Jamaal Charles, Larry Centers (FB), Stephen Davis, Corey Dillon, Warrick Dunn, Charlie Garner, Eddie George, Ahman Green, Priest Holmes, Steven Jackson, Chris Johnson, Daryl Johnston (FB), Thomas Jones, John Kuhn (FB), Vonta Leach, Dorsey Levens, Jamal Lewis, Eric Metcalf (also WR/PR/KR), Glyn Milburn (also WR), Lorenzo Neal (FB), Tony Richardson (FB), Robert Smith, Fred Taylor, Chris Warren, Ricky Watters, Brian Westbrook, Ricky Williams

  • WIDE RECEIVERS (23): Anquan Boldin, Troy Brown (also PR/KR), Donald Driver, Antonio Freeman, Irving Fryar, Dante Hall, Devin Hester* (also PR/KR), Torry Holt*, Joe Horn, Andre Johnson*, Chad Johnson, Brandon Marshall, Derrick Mason, Herman Moore, Muhsin Muhammad, Jordy Nelson, Andre Rison, Jimmy Smith, Rod Smith, Steve Smith Sr., Hines Ward, Reggie Wayne*, Wes Welker

  • TIGHT ENDS (3):Ben Coates, Antonio Gates, Wesley Walls

  • OFFENSIVE LINEMEN (25): Willie Anderson* (T), Bruce Armstrong (T/G), Matt Birk (C), Lomas Brown (T), Ruben Brown (G), Jahri Evans (G), Kevin Glover (C/G), Olin Kreutz (C), T.J. Lang (T), Matt Light (T), Nick Mangold (C), Logan Mankins (G), Tom Nalen (C), Nate Newton (G/T), Jeff Saturday (C), Mark Schlereth (G/C), Josh Sitton (G), Chris Snee (G), Mark Stepnoski (C), Dave Szott (G), Max Unger (C), Brian Waters (G), Richmond Webb (T), Erik Williams (T), Steve Wisniewski (G)

  • DEFENSIVE LINEMEN (20): John Abraham (DE also LB), Jared Allen* (DE), Dwight Freeney* (DE), La’Roi Glover (DT/NT), Casey Hampton (DT/NT), Robert Mathis (DE), Haloti Ngata (DT), Leslie O’Neal (DE), Julius Peppers (DE), Simeon Rice (DE), Justin Smith (DE), Neil Smith (DE), Dana Stubblefield (DT), Henry Thomas (DT/NT), Justin Tuck (DE), Ted Washington (NT/DT), Vince Wilfork (DT/NT), Jamal Williams (DT/NT), Kevin Williams (DT), Pat Williams (DT)

  • LINEBACKERS (25): Jesse Armstead, Brendon Ayanbadejo, Cornelius Bennett, Lance Briggs, Keith Brooking, NaVorro Bowman, Tedy Bruschi, Karlos Dansby, Donnie Edwards, James Farrior, London Fletcher, James Harrison, Larry Izzo, Willie McGinest (also DE), Hardy Nickerson, Ken Norton Jr., Bryce Paup, Julian Peterson, Joey Porter, Takeo Spikes, Jessie Tuggle, Mike Vrabel, Patrick Willis*, Al Wilson, Lee Woodall

  • DEFENSIVE BACKS (17): Eric Allen (CB), Kam Chancellor (S), Nick Collins (DB), Antonio Cromartie (CB), Dré Bly (DB), Merton Hanks (S), Rodney Harrison (S), Carnell Lake (DB), Tim McDonald (S), Eugene Robinson (DB), Samari Rolle (DB), Allen Rossum (DB), Bob Sanders (S), Charles Tillman (CB), Troy Vincent (CB), Antoine Winfield (DB), Darren Woodson* (S)

  • PUNTERS/KICKERS (15): David Akers (K), Gary Anderson (K), Darren Bennett (P), Jason Elam (K), Jeff Feagles (P), Jason Hanson (K), John Kasay (K), Sean Landeta (P), Shane Lechler (P), Brad Maynard (P), Pat McAfee (P), Brian Moorman (P), Matt Stover (K), Matt Turk (P), Mike Vanderjagt (K)

  • SPECIAL TEAMS (2): Josh Cribbs (KR/PR also WR), Brian Mitchell (KR/PR also RB)

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Antonio Gates among new nominees for Pro Football Hall of Fame