Thirteen Giants nominated for the 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame Seniors class

The Pro Football Hall of Fame has announced 183 candidates for admission in 2025 in the Seniors category. The newly created Seniors Screening Committee will reduce this list to 50 nominees to be considered by a separate Seniors Blue-Ribbon Committee. That committee will narrow the list to three finalists who will qualify for possible election to the HOF. “Seniors” are defined as players who never played after 1999.

As you can see, the odds are slim, less than 2%, of a nominee actually making it into the HOF. Consider this due diligence by the HOF to make sure worthy players from the past have not fallen through the cracks. Many of the nominees have been on the list for years without being enshrined. The list does include 13 former New York Giants, though, so it’s worthwhile to give them their due and assess whether any have a chance.

All but one appear in the recently announced Giants Top 100 list, so for each player I include their ranking in that list in parentheses to provide some context and use that ranking to order the discussion below. That ranking doesn’t necessarily indicate the odds of those players to be one of the three finalists, because the Giants’ list less highly ranks players who only spent a part of their career as members of Big Blue.

On the flip side, a number of the Giants’ candidates who did make their Top 100 arguably have not yet made the HOF because their careers were shortened or otherwise compromised by injury. That may also preclude them from being selected for the HOF, although the Hall occasionally admits a player whose star shone brightly for only a short time (e.g., Terrell Davis). Pro Football Reference has a Hall of Fame Monitor that tries to predict which current and past players will (not should) make the HOF based on what they see as stats that HOF voters appear to weigh in deciding whom to vote for. I also include each player’s HOF Monitor score along with the lowest score of anyone at his position that is in the HOF as a guide to which if any of the players have a chance for admission.

I’m old enough to have seen every single one of these players play, though a few only briefly.

Phil Simms (11)

HOF Monitor, 57.50 (Jim Kelly, 59.10)

Phil Simms should have been one of the NFL’s greatest success stories. A relatively unknown small-college quarterback who was drafted high and wound up succeeding, but for the most part not until his sixth NFL year. He showed promise as a rookie. Then a series of injuries, an ill-advised benching by a rookie head coach, and two work stoppages that curtailed NFL seasons all conspired to limit his accomplishments. He wasn’t entirely without blame, taking a few years to figure things out.

When he did, though, the Giants became a championship-caliber team. From 1984-1990 he was arguably a top 5 quarterback in the NFL, behind only Joe Montana, Dan Marino, John Elway, and Dan Fouts. He passed for more than 4,000 yards once when that was a fairly rare occurrence in the NFL, despite having good but not great wide receivers.

When the light finally came on for Simms and he was healthy, he took the Giants to a 14-2 record and their first Super Bowl. After a scary first half in which Elway mostly outplayed the Giants’ defense, Simms came out in the second half and shredded the Broncos’ defense. He wound up going 22-of-25 with 3 TD passes, arguably the greatest QB performance in Super Bowl history. Here are some highlights from that performance:

In 1990 he had the Giants on track for another Super Bowl before a season-ending injury late in the season handed the reins to Jeff Hostetler.

Because of the injuries and only that one Super Bowl appearance, as well as his being overshadowed by some of the greatest QBs in NFL history in the 1980s, Simms has never gotten over the hump in HOF voting. He never made All-Pro and was selected to only two Pro Bowls. He was a HOF-worthy talent, though.

Charlie Conerly (13)

HOF Monitor, n/a (only exists for players who started in 1955 or later)

Photo by Robert Riger/Getty Images

Charlie Conerly is an interesting case. I only saw him toward the end of his career, and pro football was a different game in those days. Running the ball was king on most teams, and passing, when it was done, had as its goal efficiency rather than putting up big numbers. Unlike today, when the starting quarterback is considered THE premiere position, and the Earth stops spinning on its axis when a starting quarterback is benched, the quarterback position in the 1940s-1950s on some teams rotated between two players within a single game, just like the running back, wide receiver, and tight end positions are handled in today’s game.

Conerly only started every game in one season of his 14-year career. In 1956, when he led the Giants to a 47-7 rout of Chicago in the NFL Championship Game, he didn’t start even one game…yet he made the Pro Bowl, one of two times he was voted in. He finished second in the MVP voting in 1959…while only passing for 1,706 yards that season (when seasons were only 12 games). Conerly’s game was all about the big passing plays, to Kyle Rote, Frank Gifford, Bob Schnelker. In that 1956 NFL Championship Game he was only 7-of-10…but for 195 yards and 2 TDs. Targeted strikes rather than carpet bombing. Conerly had a career 13.7 yards per completion average. Compare to Eli Manning’s 11.6 and Peyton Manning’s 11.7.

Conerly got lost in the shuffle, playing at the same time as the more heralded Johnny Unitas, Otto Graham, Y.A. Tittle, and Norm Van Brocklin did. But in the context of his time, a pretty good case can be made for him to be a Hall of Famer. Here he is completing a 77-yard TD pass play to Frank Gifford:

Carl Banks (17)

HOF Monitor, 52.48 (Dave Wilcox, 49.88)

Photo by George Rose/Getty Images

Talk about being lost in the shuffle of higher profile contemporaries – Carl Banks was the “minor partner” in the linebacking firm of Carson, Taylor, and Banks, perhaps the greatest threesome at the linebacking position in the history of the NFL. Banks only made the Pro Bowl and All-Pro once in his career, yet he was a key to the Giants’ success in the 1980s. He didn’t get the glory, because he wasn’t primarily a high-profile pass rusher like LT most of the time (although he did have 36 career sacks in 9 years as a Giant). Instead, Banks was one of the best run-defending linebackers of his time. The Hall of Fame voted him onto their 1980s All-Decade Team, recognizing what he contributed to those great Giants teams.

In the Giants’ first Super Bowl, Banks’ tackle of Sammy Winder for a 4-yard loss on third down as Denver was at the Giants’ 1-yard line and about to extend their 10-7 lead to 17-7 was the turning point in the game. Simms’ second-half heroics may never have happened if Banks doesn’t make that play. Here are some Banks’ career highlights:

Mark Bavaro (18)

HOF Monitor, 31.78 (Charlie Sanders, 61.58)

Photo by Dan Honda/Getty Images

Tight end is regarded as a low-value position in the NFL. There are only nine tight ends in the HOF. That means that Mark Bavaro will have an uphill climb to HOF selection. Bavaro was never a stats guy. His 31.78 HOF Monitor score is far behind the lowest-ranked tight end to ever make the HOF. It’s not even as high as some other Giants TEs like Bob Tucker (40.13) and Jeremy Shockey (36.73). He only made the Pro Bowl and All-Pro twice in an era in which he was overshadowed by great receiving TEs Kellen Winslow and Ozzie Newsome. He suffered a serious knee injury in 1989 and though he returned to play in 1990, he missed the entire 1991 season and wound up retiring after only eight seasons.

We all know, though, that Bavaro was a HOF-level talent. He, not the wide receivers, was the No. 1 target of Phil Simms on that 1986 Super Bowl team (1,001 receiving yards). He was a tough-as-nails blocker, one of the best combinations of receiving and blocking talent the NFL has ever seen. And of course, he made one of the greatest plays in Giants history in a Monday Night Football game in San Francisco:

Jimmy Patton (20)

HOF Monitor, 75.48 (Dick LeBeau, 48.20)

Jimmy Patton was the greatest free safety in Giants history. The PFR HOF Monitor combines cornerbacks and safeties into one “defensive back” category. In that category, there are only four DBs with six All-Pro selections, and all are in the HOF. There are five with five All-Pro selections – all but Patton, who was Pro Bowl and All-Pro for five consecutive seasons in the 1950s, are in the HOF. He’s in the company of players like Rod Woodson, Deion Sanders, Ronnie Lott, Ed Reed, and Herb Adderley.

During that five-year stretch, Patton had 37 interceptions, mostly as a free safety, leading the NFL with 11 in 1958. Paired with HOFer Emlen Tunnell and later Dick Nolan at strong safety, that gave the Giants one of the most imposing defensive backfields in the NFL as it entered the era of great quarterbacks:

Although Patton was primarily a pass defender, he returned kickoffs and punts as well, and he was a sure tackler, often having to take on running backs like Jim Brown who had gotten past the Giants’ first and second levels of defense. He entered the Giants Ring of Honor in 2022.

Del Shofner (23)

HOF Monitor, 84.75 (Tommy McDonald, 55.45)

Photo by Robert Riger/Getty Images

There are only three modern-era wide receivers who are eligible for the HOF who have not yet gotten in (Reggie Wayne, Torry Holt, Steve Smith) whose HOF Monitor score is higher than Del Shofner’s. There are 11 WRs whose HOF Monitor score is lower than Shofner’s who have gotten in.

Shofner was one of the NFL’s premier wide receivers at what was then called the split end position, first as a Los Angeles Ram (after a rookie year as a defensive back) and then as a Giant. In one six-year span, Shofner had four 1,000-yard seasons (one of which led the NFL) plus a 900-yard season. Shofner had great hands, ran great routes to get open, and could run like the wind, the quintessential YAC receiver:

Unfortunately ulcers and a leg injury slowed him down after the 1963 season and limited his chances to solidify his HOF credentials. Nonetheless, he was voted to the Hall of Fame’s 1960’s All-Decade Team. If there is one Giant I’d suggest should get serious consideration for selection to the Hall of Fame, it would be Shofner.

Leonard Marshall (26)

HOF Monitor, 42.10 (Fred Dean, 43.85)

Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images

On the linebacker-dominated Giants defense of their first Super Bowl era, defensive end/tackle Leonard Marshall was the one constant Giants’ presence up front. Marshall hasn’t really received his due because of the linebackers, but he was a two-time Pro Bowl and All-Pro player. In a stretch from 1985-1991, Marshall had seasons with 15.5, 12.0, 11.0, 9.5, 8.0, and 8.0 sacks.

Marshall will forever be a part of Giants lore because of the crushing tackle he made on Joe Montana that turned the 1990 NFC Championship game in the Giants’ favor:

Marshall was inducted into the Giants Ring of Honor in 2022. His former defensive coordinator, Bill Belichick, has endorsed him for HOF selection, but it will be an uphill battle.

Homer Jones (27)

HOF Monitor, 29.18 (Tommy McDonald, 55.45)

Homer Jones was my favorite Giants wide receiver ever. BBVers who remember me from the FanPosts section when I first joined may remember that my screen name was TarkentonToJones, and my X handle @TTJ_nyg is based on that as well.

Jones joined the Giants in 1964, just as their defense and quarterback Y.A. Tittle were cratering as they aged. He and Shofner were teammates for a few years. If Shofner had been healthy at the time that would have been one of the most amazing deep-threat tandems in NFL history. Jones finished his career with an average 21.3 yards per touch, while Shofner had 18.3. To put that into context, Tyreek Hill led the NFL last season with 14.5. Nonetheless, Jones carved out his own role as an elite wide receiver, catching bombs from Fran Tarkenton on the awful-to-mediocre Giants teams of the mid-1960s:

Like Shofner, Jones retired early due to an injury (knee), and he only played seven NFL seasons. When healthy, though, he had a three-year stretch with more than 1,000 yards each season and 29 total TDs, including a league-leading 14 in 1967.

Rosey Grier (35)

HOF Monitor, 31.50 (Joe Klecko, 46.58)

Rosey Grier was a great defensive tackle on the intimidating defensive line of the late 1950s – early 1960’s championship and contending teams. He was an All-Pro three times, went to the Pro Bowl twice, and finished third in MVP voting (quite a feat for a defensive player) in 1961, a year in which he had 9 sacks.

Grier is a surviving member of the 1956 Giants NFL Championship team. Here he is sacking Chicago Bears QB Ed Brown in that title game:

Grier was traded to the Los Angeles Rams in 1963, one of many ill-advised moves that precipitated the Giants’ decline. He became a member of the Rams’ “Fearsome Foursome” defensive line, although his best NFL years were as a Giant.

Sean Landeta (47)

HOF Monitor, 47.43 (Ray Guy, 52.33)

Photo by Tim DeFrisco/Allsport/Getty Images

Punters don’t get into the Hall of Fame. The only punter in the Hall of Fame is Ray Guy. Sean Landeta was a great punter for the Giants for eight years during their first Super Bowl era, and he went on to have a 20-year NFL career. His three first team All-Pro selections (the same as Guy) trail only Shane Lechler (part of the modern era candidate pool) and Johnny Hekker (still active) in NFL history. Landeta is unfortunately most remembered for the gust of wind that caused him to whiff on a punt from the end zone in the Giants’ 1985 playoff game in Chicago, but there is no question that he is one of the great punters in NFL history. His selection to the NFL’s 1980’s All-Decade Team proves that.

In the 1986 NFC Championship Game, Landeta made one of the best punts ever in a high-leverage situation, into another strong wind, high and downed at the 4-yard line, as the Giants shut out Washington to reach the Super Bowl:

Ottis Anderson (51)

HOF Monitor, 51.42 (Larry Csonka, 52.55)

Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images

If Anderson makes the Hall of Fame, it will be primarily on the basis of his five 1,000-yard rushing seasons as a St. Louis Cardinal. Anderson came to the Giants after his eighth season and was their premier running back for two seasons, including the 1990 Super Bowl team. Anderson gave the Giants the type of punishing running that makes defenses take notice. The stiff arm you see him giving in the picture above was not a rare occurrence when OJ had the ball, and his iconic uppercut on Mark Kelso during his 102-yard, MVP performance in the Super Bowl is part of Giants’ lore:

Jeff Hostetler (79)

HOF Monitor, 31.85 (Jim Kelly, 59.10)

Photo by Dan Honda via Getty Images

Of all the Giants’ nominees, Jeff Hostetler probably has the most difficult path to Canton. Hostetler is forever dear to Giants fans for taking over the 1990 team, probably the best in Giants’ history, after Simms was injured late in the season and steering them through the playoffs to their second Super Bowl ring. He went 20-of-32 for 222 yards with a key TD pass to Stephen Baker just before halftime that got the Giants back into the game. He then supplanted Simms as starter for two years when Ray Handley became head coach before moving to the Raiders as starter for four seasons after Dan Reeves became head coach and the Giants did not renew his contract..

Hostetler had a difficult Giants tenure, sitting much of the time behind Simms and wanting to be traded. Under Bill Parcells he’d mostly get onto the field at the end of games, and he even played special teams. Until taking over for Simms late in 1990 and winning the Super Bowl, he even thought of retiring. As a Raider, though, he had two 3,000-yard seasons and validated the confidence he’d had in himself but that the Giants seemingly never did. One other thing about Hostetler: In 10 years in the NFL, he never had a losing season record in games he started. Here are some highlights from that 1990 season:

Everson Walls

HOF Monitor, 55.10 (Dick LeBeau, 48.20)

Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images

Walls is the only Giants nominee who did not make the franchise’s Top 100 list. That’s not because he wasn’t a great player, but rather because he spent only two full seasons and part of a third as a Giant.

Walls played a key role as a starting cornerback on the Giants’ 1990 Super Bowl winning team. He made his name, though, as a Dallas Cowboy for the first nine years of his career. Walls burst onto the scene and seemed to be on a HOF track, making four Pro Bowls and three All-Pro teams in his first five years. His play declined some after that, though. When he signed as a Giant it was expected that he’s have a reserve role, but his preseason play won him a starting job:

As a Giant, Walls is remembered as the subject of a Sports Illustrated cover thanking a higher power for the Giants’ survival against Buffalo due to a missed field goal. But he had a huge play in the game, making a shoestring tackle on Thurman Thomas when Thomas broke through the defensive line and seemed to have a clear path to a touchdown.