Will Colts Reggie Wayne and Dwight Freeney make the Pro Football Hall of Fame?

Former Colts Dwight Freeney and Reggie Wayne are among the 15 finalists for the 2024 Pro Football Hall of Fame class. Eric Allen, Jared Allen, Willie Anderson, Jahri Evans, Antonio Gates, Rodney Harrison, Devin Hester, Torry Holt, Andre Johnson, Julius Peppers, Fred Taylor, Patrick Willis and Darren Woodson are the other finalists. Only five can be elected and they will be announced at 9 p.m. on Feb. 8 during NFL Honors, which airs on CBS and NFL Network, and streams on NFL+ and Paramount+.

Predicting who will make the Pro Football Hall of Fame in any specific year is an impossible task outside of the obvious first-ballot players because there are more qualified players than openings. But here are the hall of fame cases for the former Colts.

Hall of Fame case for Reggie Wayne

Wayne leads the three receiver candidates in catches (1,070 to Johnson's 1,062 and Holt's 920), receiving yards (14,345 to Johnson's 14,185 to Holt's 13,382) and touchdowns (82 to Johnson's 70 and Holt's 75). The touchdowns are a point in Wayne's favor.

He's 10th all-time in receiving yards and all seven eligible players ahead of him are already in the Hall of Fame. Wayne's also 10th in catches and 29th in touchdowns.

He made six Pro Bowls and one All-Pro team and led the NFL in receiving in 2007 with 1,510 yards.

Of the 24 Hall of Fame-eligible receivers to make at least six Pro Bowls, 20 are in. The ones who haven't made it are Johnson, Holt, Chad Johnson and Billy Wilson. Wilson played in the 1950s, making comparisons difficult, and Wayne's career numbers far surpass Chad Johnson's.

His Pro-Football-Reference.com Hall of Fame monitor score — it compares players to others at a position based on various statistics — is 107.64, 11th among wide receivers with the average of the Hall of Fame receivers 104.62.

Johnson and Holt each made 7 Pro Bowls — every eligible receiver with 7 Pro Bowls is in the Hall of Fame — with Johnson making first team All-Pro twice. That's a thin margin to exclude Wayne, but it's really difficult to make a choice among these three.

Holt led the NFL in receiving yards twice (2000 and 2003) and catches in 2003; Johnson led the NFL in receiving yards twice (2008 and 2009) and catches twice (2006 and 2008). An edge over Wayne for both players, albeit a small one.

Holt gets a point for averaging 14.5 yards per catch, better than Wayne and Johnson, who each averaged 13.4.

Johnson — who spent one disappointing season with the Colts — gets a few bonus points for having Matt Schaub as his quarterback most of his career. Schaub was a solid NFL quarterback, but Wayne played with Hall of Famer Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck; Holt with Hall of Famer Kurt Warner. Johnson, however, didn't have to share the ball with another Hall of Famer; Wayne (Marvin Harrison) and Holt (Isaac Bruce) did.

Wayne is a Hall of Famer but the question is when. Would it be a miscarriage of Hall of Fame justice if Holt and/or Johnson were elected before Wayne? No. Both are also Hall of Fame-caliber receivers.

In order to pick Johnson or Holt ahead of Wayne requires nitpicking Wayne's career. But, picking Wayne over Johnson or Holt requires nitpicking their careers. The bottom line: The Pro Football Hall of Fame needs to consider altering its minimum on candidates.

Working in the favor of Wayne, Johnson and Holt is there isn't a lot of competition at the position. Steve Smith Sr. is the only other player who is or will soon be eligible; all three should get in.

Hall of Fame case for Dwight Freeney

Hall of Fame credentials pretty much come down to one stat for pass rushers: sacks.

Freeney is precariously balanced on edge.

His 125.5 sacks are 26th all time and and just four eligible players – Allen, Peppers Leslie O'Neal and John Abraham -- ahead of him on the list who are not in the Hall of Fame. (Terrell Suggs isn’t eligible yet.)

But ... almost everyone behind him is not in the Hall of Fame.

Also, Freeney was never the pre-eminent pass-rusher of his era. Only once during his career did he lead the league in sacks, and he finished in the top five only three times. He regularly was overshadowed by Ware, Jason Taylor and Allen.

Freeney has to overcome another gap is his resume, though a small one. His 333 career tackles are 238 fewer than Warren Sapp, the man with lowest tackle total in Canton. That said, tackles didn't become an official stat until 1994 and tackling non-quarterbacks wasn't exactly Freeney's job.

Freeney, however, has a few factors working in his favor. His seven Pro Bowl appearances put him ahead of 23 Hall of Fame defensive ends and outside linebackers with only two eligible non-Hall of Famers ahead of him.

His 46 forced fumbles are No. 4 all-time and he has that spin move. If you don't think boasting a signature pass rushing technique boosts his hall of fame appeal, you're crazy.

Voters will be able to associate Freeney's run of excellence with a familiar maneuver. You think Freeney, you think spin move. And when you're as close to the Hall of candidacy as Freeney, every little bit helps.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts news: Will Reggie Wayne, Dwight Freeney make the Hall of Fame?