Jonathan Casillas played with New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning during the end of the two-time Super Bowl champion’s legendary career from 2015-2017. Casillas also spent years as teammate of the top two all-time passing leaders in NFL history in Tom Brady and New Orleans Saints legend Drew Brees, so he knows what Hall of Fame quarterbacks look like.
Despite Eli’s tremendous achievements, there are those who have the nerve to question his credentials as an all-time great signal caller. There have been media attempts to undermine his greatness by demeaning his .500 career won-loss record, while chalking his success up to being “lucky” in two Super Bowls – which is absurd.
Former NY Giants Linebacker Jonathan Casillas Says Eli Manning Is Hall of Famer: Only Question Is First Ballot Or Not
With Eli now a semifinalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2025 in his first year of eligibility, Casillas appeared on The Shadow League’s “Locker Room” show to give his strong opinion on Manning’s HOF worthiness.
“It’s not just two great Super Bowl wins,” Casillas said. “I think for sure Eli Manning is a Hall of Famer. The real debate is whether or not he’s a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Will he get in the first year he’s eligible?”
“If you look at all of the accomplishments he’s had in his career; how long, he played. During his career, he was the longest-tenured starting quarterback for consecutive starts.”
Manning’s 234 starts are the fourth-most total by a quarterback with one franchise:
“So I think when you say that alone, let alone his body of work,” Casillas continued. “That gives him the nod to get in. The Iron Man career, the numbers, the amount of TDs and how he performed in the playoffs. The passes that he threw in critical situations then beating the GOAT twice in the Super Bowl with those two throws that he made.”
Eli Manning Beat Tom Brady & Dynasty Patriots Twice In The Super Bowl
His first win came in Super Bowl XLII in 2008 where Manning and the wild card New York Giants pulled off an iconic upset when they beat the undefeated New England Patriots 17–14. The winning score was set up by an unfathomable and unforgettable “helmet catch” by wide receiver David Tyree in the final two minutes of Super Bowl XLII on February 3, 2008 after an incredible scramble by Manning to keep the play alive.
The stuff of legends.
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Manning’s second Super Bowl win against Brady in Super Bowl XLVI in 2012 was also dramatic. He once again led Big Blue to a 21–17 upset victory over the highly favored Patriots, hitting Plaxico Burress on a fade pattern in the corner of the end zone for the win.
Only Giants haters or people too young to have watched Manning work would challenge his place as a first-ballot Hall of Famer. He’s the embodiment of everything a franchise quarterback and leader is supposed to be.
Eli Manning Was A Silent Assassin
Casillas spent the 2015 season as Manning’s teammate. He says Eli wasn’t as vocal but commanded the same locker room respect.
“He was different than Tom Brady and Drew Brees,” Casillas told “Locker Room” host Osei the Dark Secret. “He wasn’t as vocal as I thought he would be. He wasn’t as looming of a presence as I thought he would be, but the impact was still the same. He wasn’t the rah, rah guy, but whenever he spoke everybody shut up. Yes sir, Eli sir.”
Between 2004 and 2019, Eli threw for 57,023 yards and 366 touchdowns. He made four Pro Bowls. He won the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award and two Super Bowl MVP awards.
Just slaying the unbeatable Brady twice is enough to garner a quarterback Canton consideration, but when you combine all of the seasons Eli played, the 27 4th-quarter comebacks, the way he represented the organization like the rock of Gibraltar and played his best in the biggest moments, make him a Hall of Famer.
The Manning Family Of Quarterbacks Is Legendary
“Not only is he a Manning,” Casillas says, “but he’s Eli Manning, the man who took down Tom Brady twice. His résumé speaks for itself.”
Eli Manning comes from a vaunted family of Hall of Fame quarterbacks, including his father Archie, a member of the New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame, and his brother Peyton, who is credited by many as having revolutionized the position.
Each drafted in the first round, the three quarterbacks combined for 48 years of NFL excellence, 338 regular season wins, 20 Pro Bowls, five league MVPs, two Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Awards, four Super Bowl victories and three Super Bowl MVP honors.
Even in this pass-first era, Peyton Manning still holds the record for TD passes in a season with 55 in 2013 as quarterback of the Denver Broncos late in his career.
Eli Manning Is One Of The All-Time Money Quarterbacks In History
Eli was always among the league’s top passers and his aerial game is as good as it gets. He was the franchise quarterback for the New York Giants for 16 seasons, appearing in more games in a Giant uniform than any other player in the franchise’s 100-year history. From clutch throws to tough throws, Eli, who also holds the record for longest TD pass in history is everything any so-called franchise quarterback should aspire to be.
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Winning Super Bowls Isn’t Guaranteed, No Matter How Great The QB
Quarterbacks, no matter how great they are or how many impressive passing stats they post, only get a couple of seasons where they actually have the team capable of winning a Super Bowl. It doesn’t mean your team is the clear favorite, it just means that if everyone raises their level of play a bit and the quarterback goes above and beyond his job for a few games, the talent is capable of pulling off a Lombardi Trophy.
This rarely happens. Look at all of the high-priced high passing yardage quarterbacks that are lauded and celebrated, with MVPs such as Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen and Justin Herbert and Joe Burrow, yet Patrick Mahomes is the quarterback who continues to send these guys home crying with their fancy stats hanging out of their back pockets.
Eli Manning was the epitome of a winner and a champion, and anybody who played with him probably feels the same as Casillas does.
