Pro Football Hall of Fame 2026 Semifinalists — Defense

On Wednesday, the Pro Football Hall of Fame announced this year's semifinalists. Among the 26 modern semifinalists, 17 primarily played offense, 8 primarily played defense, and 1 was a special teamer. Yesterday, I profiled the 17 offensive semifinalists. In this article, we'll cover defense and special teams. Let's go by position.

Defensive Line

Semifinalists: Robert Mathis, Vince Wilfork, Kevin Williams

Eliminated quarterfinalists: John Abraham, Haloti Ngata, Simeon Rice

My big disappointment here is Geno Atkins, a 2010s All-Decade selection. How he wasn't considered one of the top 52 candidates this year, I don't really understand.

Abraham, Ngata, and Rice were all very good players. Abraham is top-20 all-time in sacks (133.5), ahead of Mathis (123) and their HOF contemporary Dwight Freeney (125.5). Ngata was a five-time All-Pro, and Rice probably should have won MVP of Super Bowl XXXVII. I don't think any of them will ever be elected to the PFHOF.

Robert Mathis
Indianapolis Colts, 2003-16
2 AP All-Pro, 6 Pro Bowls

Mathis was the master of the strip-sack. Check out this great YouTube compilation:

Mathis was lightning-quick, and he always tried to get the ball rather than trying to kill the quarterback. He didn't have the stadium-shaking hits that a lot of fans like, he just had the most forced fumbles in NFL history. Mathis was DPOY runner-up in 2013, when he had 19.5 sacks and 10 forced fumbles. He's never been a Hall of Fame finalist, and he's certainly not getting elected this year, but he might have a shot down the line. I wrote an article about Mathis when he retired in 2017.

Vince Wilfork
New England Patriots, 2004-14; Houston Texans, 2015-16
3 AP All-Pro, 5 Pro Bowls

Wilfork's play was a little uneven, but at his best he was dominating, nigh on unblockable. He was the Patriots' best defensive player for many years. Tom Brady and Wilfork were the only players on New England's 2004 Super Bowl-winning team and its 2014 Super Bowl-winning team.

This is Wilfork's fifth consecutive year as a PFHOF semifinalist, but he's never advanced to the finalist round. Bill Belichick and Brady are inner-circle all-time greats, but the idea that the Patriots went 13-3 every year with just those two seems pretty flimsy to me. I'd like to see Logan Mankins — who didn't make the semifinalist round this year — and Wilfork get gold jackets some day. It's not going to happen any time soon, though. Wilfork was a space eater, a run stuffer and a guy who drew double teams, but he didn't have the flashy sack numbers that a lot of voters like.

Kevin Williams
Minnesota Vikings, 2003-13; Seattle Seahawks, 2014; New Orleans Saints, 2015
5 AP All-Pro, 6 Pro Bowls, 2000s All-Decade Team

A four-time consensus All-Pro and an All-Decade selection, it's surprising Williams hasn't been a more successful HOF candidate. This is his first year as a semifinalist. I guess that at least means he's trending in the right direction, but he's got a long way to go.

I was less impressed by Williams than many voters were, so maybe I'm the wrong writer to make a case for him. I only picked him as an All-Pro once, but he was in the mix almost every year: a player who was consistently very good. I named Williams as an honorable mention for both my 2000-09 All-Decade Team and my 2005-14 All-Decade Team.

Last year, Williams' teammate Jared Allen was the only defensive lineman to be a finalist for the Hall (Allen was elected, on his fourth ballot). Hopefully that will clear the way for Williams to get some more support, since teammates often split votes and Allen was clearly superior.

Linebackers

Semifinalists: Luke Kuechly, Terrell Suggs

Eliminated quarterfinalists: London Fletcher, James Harrison

I think London Fletcher should be in the Hall of Fame. I'll probably write about that in depth one day, but for now I'll just point out that his stats are pretty similar to those of first-ballot LBs Ray Lewis and Brian Urlacher.

Luke Kuechly
Carolina Panthers, 2012-19
1 DPOY, 7 AP All-Pro, 7 Pro Bowls, Defensive Rookie of the Year, 2010s All-Decade Team

This is Kuechly's second year of Hall of Fame eligibility. I was surprised he didn't get in last year, though he was among the final seven. I suspect he'll get in this time, though his short career is probably an issue for some voters.

One of the more frustrating things about sports discourse is how many people treat the terms "overrated" and "bad" as if they were synonyms. They are not. Ray Lewis and Brian Urlacher were overrated. So were Champ Bailey and Troy Polamalu, and other deserving Hall of Famers. His first couple of seasons, I called Kuechly overrated I don't know how many times. I know I wrote at least twice that he was the most overrated player in the NFL. Early in his career, he routinely ran himself out of position.

He turned things around, however, and in my last four years naming Pro Bowl and All-Pro teams (2014-17), I voted Kuechly to the Pro Bowl all four years, and chose him as an All-Pro three times, the exception coming in a year he got injured and only played 10 games. By 2016 I wrote, "He's probably the best linebacker in the league at shedding blockers, and he's terrific in pass coverage." Kuechly isn't someone I'm motivated to campaign for, because I still resent how aggressively he was hyped, but I believe he deserves induction, and I don't think he'll have to wait long for it.

Terrell Suggs
Baltimore Ravens, 2003-18; Arizona Cardinals, 2019; Kansas City Chiefs, 2019
1 DPOY, 2 AP All-Pro, 7 Pro Bowls, Defensive Rookie of the Year

You probably know that sacks didn't become an official statistic until 1982. On the official list, Terrell Suggs is 8th all-time (139). Everyone ahead of him is in Canton, and the next five players behind him are in Canton, as well. After that, it's Von Miller, who obviously isn't eligible yet but will get in on the first ballot, and then John Abraham. Suggs' sack total alone makes him a strong HOF contender, but he was also DROY, DPOY, made 7 Pro Bowls, and started for a Super Bowl champion.

Suggs was a Hall of Fame finalist last year, his first time on the ballot. I'm sure he'll be a finalist again this year, and I believe he'll get elected eventually, but it might take another four or five years.

Suggs is weird because he was consistently good but seldom among the really elite players in the league. He had a big 2011 season, when he won Defensive Player of the Year, with 14 sacks, 7 forced fumbles, and 2 interceptions, but in general he was more of a slow-and-steady type than a dominator. He had double-digit sacks seven times, which is fine but on the low side for recent inductees who are primarily pass rushers:

• 2025: Jared Allen (8)
• 2024: Julius Peppers (10) and Dwight Freeney (7)
• 2023: DeMarcus Ware (8)

No modern DEs or OLBs were elected from 2018-22. Before that you have to go back to Jason Taylor (1997-2010), who isn't directly comparable to Suggs. A career high of 14 sacks is also pretty low for this generation. Allen peaked at 22 and had more than 14 four times. Peppers topped out at 14.5, which isn't a significant difference, but his greatness is less focused on pass rushing: Peppers also had a bunch of interceptions and blocked kicks, and he had more good seasons than Suggs. Freeney's career high was 16 sacks, and Ware's was 20 (he had three seasons over 14).

It sounds like I'm making a case against Suggs now, and that's really not my goal: I think he deserves to be enshrined. But I also understand why the voters aren't putting him in right away.

Defensive Backs

Semifinalists: Rodney Harrison, Earl Thomas, Darren Woodson

Eliminated quarterfinalists: Asante Samuel, Charles Tillman, Troy Vincent