On Wednesday, the Pro Football Hall of Fame released its list of nominations for the 2026 Hall of Fame class. The Atlanta Falcons currently have nine members in the Hall and they have eight more nominated for the upcoming class.
Of the eight, most have absolutely no chance of ever sniffing the Hall of Fame, so we won’t waste too much time on them here. But, here is the complete list:
-Warrick Dunn: Running back
-John Abraham: Defensive end
-Roddy White: Wide receiver
-Todd Gurley: Running back
-Chris Boswell: Kicker
-Justin Blalock: Offensive Lineman
-Mike Johnson: Defensive Lineman
-Michael Turner: Running Back
The first three have a legitimate chance to gain entrance, while the rest seem to have been nominated by friends and/or family as a Christmas present.
Atlanta Falcons: Warrick Dunn, 2002-2007
Dunn was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first round in 1997 and he played for the Bucs until 2001. He also ended his career with them in 2008 and spent the in-between time with the Falcons.
“The Bucs selected Dunn with the 12th overall pick in the 1997 draft and he went on to capture the Associated Press Offensive Rookie of the Year trophy,” writes Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com. “Dunn played six seasons in Tampa (1997-2001, 2008), with six years in between with the Atlanta Falcons, and he is the only player in NFL history to record 7,500 yards from scrimmage with two different franchises.”
Dunn rushed for 10,967 yards and 49 touchdowns in his career, while catching 510 passes for 4,339 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Atlanta Falcons: John Abraham, 2006-2012
John Abraham was a first-round pick of the famous 2000 New York Jets draft class. Why is it famous? Because it’s the only time in NFL history (don’t worry, I corrected ChatGPT who couldn’t be bothered to get basic facts straight) that a team had four first-round picks in the same draft (Chad Pennington, Anthony Becht and Shaun Ellis were the other three).
“Abraham spent his first six years in the NFL with the New York Jets (2000-05) before being traded to Atlanta,” writes Deen Worley of Falcons Wire. “During his seven seasons with the Falcons, Abraham earned one Pro Bowl selection and was twice selected to the All-Pro team. He recorded 68.5 of 133.5 career sacks in Atlanta.”
CJ Erickson of Sports Illustrated points out that Abraham still holds the single-season sack record for the Falcons.
“As the franchise’s all-time leader for sacks in a single season (16.5), the 6-4 265-pound edge defender was the master of the spin move and loved wreaking havoc on opposing quarterbacks as a pass rusher,” Erickson writes. “He’s second all-time in sacks for the Falcons despite spending his first-six seasons with the Jets.”
Atlanta Falcons: Roddy White, 2005-2015
The Falcons selected White with the No. 27-overall draft pick in the 2005 NFL Draft out of the University of Alabama-Birmingham. He spent his entire 11-year career with Atlanta and finished with 808 catches for 10,863 yards and 63 touchdowns. That’s a lot of fantasy football points.
“Like [Keith] Brooking, wide receiver Roddy White is a name that is impossible to forget in team history,” Erickson writes, providing more context to his gaudy numbers. “He was drafted 27th overall in the 2005 NFL Draft. While he did not see much action in his first two seasons, the remaining nine seasons of his career meant everything to the city of Atlanta and contributed to quarterback Matt Ryan’s rise.
“While many of White’s records were broken by Julio Jones, White was pivotal in the organization’s transition from Michael Vick through the dark of Bobby Petrino and Joey Harrington to Matt Ryan.”
Will any of these three guys make it in? Tell us in the comments.