The Denver Broncos had 19 modern-era players nominated for the 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame class this year. Only two of them have advanced in the latest round of voting.
The original list of 167 nominees has been trimmed down to 50 candidates and former Broncos Neil Smith and Simeon Rice are among eight defensive linemen who made the cut, joined by John Abraham, Jared Allen, Robert Mathis, Haloti Ngata, Vince Wilfork and Kevin Williams.
Smith won back-to-back Super Bowls with Denver in the late 1990s. Rice won a Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and later spent part of his final season in the NFL with the Broncos in 2007.
Among the Denver players who did not make the cut is two-time Super Bowl champion wide receiver Rod Smith. Instead, six other WRs advanced: Anquan Boldin, Torry Holt, Jimmy Smith, Steve Smith, Hines Ward and Reggie Wayne.
In addition to Smith and Rice, Mike Shanahan and the late Dan Reeves are also candidates for the Hall of Fame in the coach category.
Broncos who did not advance
- RB Clinton Portis
- RB Glyn Milburn
- RB Jamaal Charles
- WR Rod Smith
- WR Demaryius Thomas
- WR Brandon Marshall
- WR Wes Welker
- TE Vernon Davis
- C Tom Nalen
- G Mark Schlereth
- DL Jamal Williams
- DL Ted Washington
- LB Bill Romanowski
- LB Keith Brooking
- CB Aqib Talib
- CB Dré Bly
- K Jason Elam
Broncos candidates for Hall of Fame
- Coach Mike Shanahan
- Coach Dan Reeves
- DL Neil Smith
- DL Simeon Rice
The Hall of Fame’s selection committee will trim the list of modern-era nominees down to 25 semifinalists in about four weeks. The 2025 class will be announced before Super Bowl LVIX next year.
