Jahri Evans has gotten one step closer to the Pro Football Hall of Fame every year he’s been eligible. The longtime New Orleans Saints right guard and Super Bowl XLIV champion has progressed from the semifinalist stage in 2023, his first year of eligibility, to the finalist level in 2024, his second. Will he finally get the call he’s been waiting for in Year 3?
There’s obviously support for Evans among voters. It helps that he was inducted to the Saints’ Ring of Honor this season, an exclusive group formed by several all-time greats already in the Pro Football Hall of Fame: Rickey Jackson, Willie Roaf, Morten Andersen, and Sam Mills. Legendary Saints quarterback Archie Manning is also in the Ring of Honor, along with late team owner Tom Benson and Evans’ Super Bowl-winning teammate Will Smith. It’s a prestigious group.
Evans was drafted out of Bloomsburg, a small school in Pennsylvania, which has sent only five other players to the NFL. He went from being drafted at No. 108 overall to starting all 169 games he played in the NFL, plus 10 playoff games and a Super Bowl. He won six Pro Bowl nods and was recognized on the All-Pro team four times, and has already been chosen for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s All-2010s Team.
We’ll be watching to see if Evans gets the respect he’s earned. He just might beat his teammate Drew Brees into enshrinement at Canton — Brees will be eligible for induction next year as part of the Class of 2026. The Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025 will be announced during Thursday night’s NFL Honors program, broadcast at 8 p.m. CT on FOX and streamed on NFL+.
