Two former Saints named finalists for Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2024

The Pro Football Hall of Fame announced the finalists for the class of 2024, and two former New Orleans Saints made the cut, both long-time Saints and not.

With the roller coaster nature of this 2023 season for the New Orleans Saints, naturally a lot of fans have eyes towards towards the future. With that being said, it doesn't mean that fans can't also look towards the past. Given the fact that this writer is a huge sucker for history, that's just what we're going to do.

When it comes to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, it's always going to spark debates. Now that we know who the finalists for the class of 2024 are, and two of them have worn Saints uniforms, we might as well get into it.

First, we have Eric Allen. Now, as the picture the Hall of Fame chose in the above tweet would indicate, Allen is known for his time with the Philadelphia Eagles, and a bit of a slight disappointment as a Saints free agency signing. However, that doesn't make him any less deserving. Allen is a former All-Pro, and six-time Pro Bowl selection, the last of which came in 1995, which happened to be his first season with the Saints. Besides, none other than Deion Sanders has been championing for him to get enshrined which should be good enough for a lot of people. Allen should get in. It is well past due.

Next is a name that Saints fans should be more familiar with.

Jahri Evans was drafted by the Saints out of division II Bloomsburg University in Pennsylvania in the fourth round of the 2006 NFL Draft. Even they couldn't have even imagined their return on investment.

Evans would go on to become arguably the best guard in the game during his career, and a Super Bowl champion to boot during the 2009 season. He would also be named as an All-Pro four times in his career, as well as being a six-time Pro Bowl selection. Given the fact that Evans was considered by many to be the best in his position for an extended period of time, that should really help his chances, even if guards get overlooked. In fact, it's good enough for us.

We'll be on the lookout to see if these two former New Orleans Saints receive the sport's highest honor, and regardless of how long, or short, they were in the Big Easy, we are rooting for them to have their time in the sun, and get that coveted gold jacket.