Last week, former Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jared Allen found out he will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this summer as a member of the 2025 class.
Allen is the 23rd former member of the Vikings to be selected for the Pro Football Hall of Fame and he is the first one since 2020, when former Minnesota guard Steve Hutchinson received his gold jacket.
So, after Allen is inducted this year, who will be the next former member of the Vikings to represent the team in the Pro Football Hall of Fame? Well, it shouldn't take anyone all day to figure it out since the answer is very obvious.
Adrian Peterson will be the next former Minnesota Vikings player to be inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame
Assuming he doesn't make a sudden comeback to the NFL next season, former Minnesota All-Pro running back Adrian Peterson will likely be the franchise's next former player to be selected for the Pro Football Hall of Fame after Allen is inducted this year.
Selected by the Vikings with the No. 7 pick in the 2007 NFL Draft, Peterson went on to spend 10 years of his pro career in purple and gold. He holds what seems like an endless amount of Minnesota franchise records that include career rushing yards, career rushing touchdowns, rushing yards in a single season, and rushing yards in a single game.
Peterson's 2012 season with the Vikings is one that stands out the most from his tenure with the team as that was when he rushed for 2,097 yards and was named the NFL MVP as a result of his performance that year. He is still the last non-quarterback to win the league's MVP award, which makes the accomplishment even more impressive.
Now, when will Peterson first become eligibile for the Pro Football Hall of Fame? Well, the eligibility for players doesn't start until they have been out of the NFL for five seasons. So, since Peterson's last appearance in the league happened in Week 13 of the 2021 season, he will be listed on the ballot when voting for the 2027 class begins.
In addition to the former Minnesota running back, Antonio Brown, Richard Sherman, Rob Gronkowski, Cam Newton, and Ben Roethlisberger will all be eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame for the first time in 2027.
Will Peterson end up being a first-ballot Hall of Famer? There's definitely a good chance of that happening, and if it does, he will become the first former Vikings player to be selected in his first year on the ballot since Randy Moss did it in 2018.