The 2026 Pro Football Hall of Fame class was just announced on Thursday night during NFL Honors. The Saints had two potential players nominated to be inducted: quarterback Drew Brees and right guard Jahri Evans. Unsurprisingly, Brees got in as a first-ballot player, however, Evans just missed the cut.
The national media seemingly disregarded Evans as a potential Hall of Fame choice because he didn’t have the same name recognition as most of the other finalists. In fact, this was the third straight year of him being a finalist and not getting admitted. Regardless of this, he was well worthy of the induction and is one of the biggest snubs for the honor, again.
It’s important to understand that although this is tough for Evans, it won’t be his only shot at getting to Canton, OH. He’s missed the cut three times but will likely be nominated again next season.
Jahri Evans didn’t make the Hall of Fame… but he was well deserving of it
Evans was a franchise cornerstone for the Saints from 2006-2016. He was a six time pro bowler, four time all-pro selection, and Super Bowl champion in his tenure. In total, he played 12,404 snaps while in New Orleans. Evans solidified himself as not just one of the best guards in team history, but in NFL history.
The Saints selected Evans in the fourth round of the 2006 NFL Draft out of Bloomsburg University, a division two school. He instantly became productive and started all 16 games that season. His consistency was a key reason the Saints had success in this period, only having one season under 1,000 snaps played.
Evans retired in 2017 after playing a sole year with the Green Bay Packers. Despite being 34 years old, he still started every game that season and only gave up two sacks.
Saints great Jahri Evans just missed out on making the Hall of Fame for the third straight year. He was undoubtedly one of the biggest snubs for the event. However, he will still have chances in the future to cement his name into the history books.