ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Former Broncos Demaryius Thomas and Aqib Talib were nominated for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025 in their first year of eligibility on the modern-era ballot.
Thomas, a Bronco from when he was the team's first-round draft pick in 2010 until he was traded midway through the 2017 season, is the second-leading receiver in team history with 9,055 receiving yards and 60 touchdowns. He trails only Rod Smith in both categories. Thomas' 665 receptions with the Broncos rank third behind Smith and Hall of Fame tight end Shannon Sharpe.
Thomas, who died suddenly of seizure complications just shy of his 34th birthday in December 2021, once held the Super Bowl single-game record with 13 catches to cap the 2013 season. He was one of the NFL's three-best receivers in the five-year stretch from 2012-16 when he averaged 98 receptions, 1,145 yards and 9 touchdowns.
Talib was a four-time Pro Bowler and once a first-time All Pro in his four seasons with the Broncos from 2014-17. An astonishing six of his 11 interceptions were returned for touchdowns while with the Broncos.
There were 17 other former Broncos who were among the 167 players nominated on the modern-era HOF ballot:
- RB: Jamaal Charles, Glyn Milburn, Clinton Portis
- WR: Brandon Marshall, Rod Smith, Demaryius Thomas, Wes Welker
- TE: Vernon Davis
- OL: Tom Nalen, Mark Schlereth
- DL: Neil Smith, Jamal Williams, Simeon Rice, Ted Washington
- LB: Bill Romanowski, Keith Brooking
- K: Jason Elam
The group of 167 nominees will be trimmed to 50 in mid-October. There will then be an announcement of 25 semifinalists, followed by 15 finalists who will go before the HOF selection committee for vote ahead of Super Bowl LVIX. Eventually up to five modern-era players will be elected.
The 167 HOF modern-era nominees:
*-Finalist for the Class of 2024. Underline indicates first year of eligibility. (Players must have last played at least five full seasons ago to be eligible for nomination. Therefore, any individual who last played in 2019 is eligible for the first time in 2025.)
QUARTERBACKS (10): Marc Bulger, Randall Cunningham, Jake Delhomme, Doug Flutie, Rich Gannon, Jeff Garcia, Donovan McNabb, Eli Manning, Steve McNair, Tony Romo
RUNNING BACKS (31): Shaun Alexander, Terry Allen, Jamal Anderson, Tiki Barber, Larry Centers (FB), Jamaal Charles, Stephen Davis, Corey Dillon, Warrick Dunn, Charlie Garner, Eddie George, Priest Holmes, Steven Jackson, Chris Johnson, Thomas Jones, John Kuhn (FB), Vonta Leach, Dorsey Levens, Jamal Lewis, Marshawn Lynch, Eric Metcalf (also WR/PR/KR), Glyn Milburn (also WR), Lorenzo Neal (FB), Clinton Portis, Tony Richardson (FB), Robert Smith, Darren Sproles (also PR/KR), Fred Taylor*, Chris Warren, Ricky Watters, Ricky Williams
WIDE RECEIVERS (21): Anquan Boldin, Donald Driver, Antonio Freeman, Irving Fryar, Torry Holt*, Joe Horn, Chad Johnson, Brandon Marshall, Derrick Mason, Herman Moore, Muhsin Muhammad, Jordy Nelson, Andre Rison, Jimmy Smith, Rod Smith, Steve Smith Sr., Demaryius Thomas, Hines Ward, Reggie Wayne*, Wes Welker, Roddy White
TIGHT ENDS (6): Ben Coates, Vernon Davis, Antonio Gates*, Jeremy Shockey, Delanie Walker, Wesley Walls
OFFENSIVE LINEMEN (26): Willie Anderson* (T), Bruce Armstrong (T/G), Matt Birk (C), Lomas Brown (T), Ruben Brown (G), Jahri Evans* (G), Travis Frederick (C), Jordan Gross (T), Ryan Kalil (C), Lincoln Kennedy (T), Olin Kreutz (C), T.J. Lang (G/T), Nick Mangold (C), Logan Mankins (G), Tom Nalen (C), Jeff Saturday (C), Mark Schlereth (G/C), Josh Sitton (G), Chris Snee (G), Joe Staley (T), Dave Szott (G), Brian Waters (G), Richmond Webb (T), Erik Williams (T), Steve Wisniewski (G), Marshal Yanda (G)
DEFENSIVE LINEMEN (18): John Abraham (DE also LB), Jared Allen* (DE), La’Roi Glover (DT/NT), Casey Hampton (DT/NT), Robert Mathis (DE), Chester McGlockton (DT), Haloti Ngata (DT), Simeon Rice (DE), Clyde Simmons (DE/DT), Justin Smith (DE), Neil Smith (DE), Henry Thomas (DT/NT), Justin Tuck (DE), Ted Washington (NT/DT), Vince Wilfork (DT/NT), Jamal Williams (DT/NT), Kevin Williams (DT), Pat Williams (DT)
LINEBACKERS (20): Jessie Armstead, Brendon Ayanbadejo, Cornelius Bennett, Lance Briggs, Keith Brooking, NaVorro Bowman, Tedy Bruschi, Donnie Edwards, James Farrior, London Fletcher, James Harrison, Luke Kuechly, Willie McGinest (also DE), Ken Norton Jr., Julian Peterson, Bill Romanowski, Takeo Spikes, Terrell Suggs, Mike Vrabel, Lee Woodall
DEFENSIVE BACKS (18): Eric Allen* (CB), Eric Berry (DB), Antoine Bethea (S), Dré Bly (DB), Kam Chancellor (S), Nick Collins (DB), Antonio Cromartie (CB), DeAngelo Hall (DB), Rodney Harrison* (S), Eugene Robinson (DB), Samari Rolle (DB), Allen Rossum (DB), Bob Sanders (S), Aqib Talib (CB), Earl Thomas (S), Charles Tillman (CB), Troy Vincent (CB), Darren Woodson* (S)
PUNTERS/KICKERS (15): David Akers (K), Gary Anderson (K), Darren Bennett (P), Jason Elam (K), Jeff Feagles (P), Jason Hanson (K), John Kasay (K), Sean Landeta (P), Shane Lechler (P), Pat McAfee (P), Brian Moorman (P), Matt Stover (K), Matt Turk (P), Mike Vanderjagt (K), Adam Vinatieri (K)
SPECIAL TEAMS (2): Josh Cribbs (KR/PR also WR), Brian Mitchell (KR/PR also RB)
