The voters made their selections, and several former Chicago Bears players were announced as finalists for the NFL Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2026.
Some of the most notable were Lance Briggs, Olin Kretuz, and, of course, Charles Tillman. Out of all the Bears Hall of Fame finalists, perhaps Tillman has the best chance to be enshrined in Canton.
Tillman's resume should be enough to get him in the Hall of Fame
Standing at 6-foot-2, 210 pounds, Tillman was a lanky defensive back with a lot of reach who made an immediate impact for the Bears in the mid-2000s. He immediately became a shutdown corner, nabbing four interceptions as a rookie. Basically, from the start of his career, Tillman was tasked with taking the opposing team's best wide receiver out of the game. And he found success in this challenging role.
He joined the Bears as a member of the legendary 2003 draft class, which also featured seven-time Pro Bowl linebacker Lance Briggs and quarterback Rex Grossman. When defensive-minded head coach Lovie Smith arrived in 2004, the Bears' fortunes changed for the better, leading a stout Bears defense to a Super Bowl appearance in 2006 and the NFC Championship Game in 2010.
Tillman, along with Briggs and Hall of Fame linebacker Brian Urlacher, were star players on all those Lovie Smith defenses that wreaked havoc across the league. While the Bears were always known to boast a feared front seven during those years, Tillman reigned as the unquestioned leader of the secondary.
In a career filled with a plethora of memorable games, Tillman's finest came against the greatest wide receiver of his generation: Calvin Johnson. In 2012, Johnson was carving up secondaries and would eventually break the record for receiving yards in a single season with 1,964.
That all changed when Johnson faced Tillman and the Bears' defense. During a cold, autumn Monday Night Football matchup, Tillman held Johnson to just three receptions for 34 yards.
After the game, all the sportswriters could mention was Tillman's shutdown defense.
"The story of the game was Tillman. In each of the Bears’ last two games, he had an interception return for a touchdown, but tonight was his best game of the season," NBC Sports Pro Football Talk wrote. "Johnson is the best receiver in the NFL, and Tillman dominated him. Tillman belongs in the conversation for the NFL’s defensive player of the year award."
During that 2012 season, when he was at his best, Tillman nabbed a league-leading 10 forced fumbles and returned three interceptions for a touchdown en route to his only all-pro season.
Affectionately nicknamed "Peanut" at birth by his aunt, Tillman was best known for the Peanut Punch--his ability to force fumbles and punch the ball out of players' hands when his team needed it the most. It was Tillman's signature play and etched his name into the record books. With 44 career forced fumbles to his name, Tillman has the most of all time for a defensive back, per StatMuse.
To put this stat in perspective, Brian Dawkins is second all-time among defensive backs in forced fumbles with 28! As previously mentioned, Tillman also led the league in 2012 with 10 forced fumbles, which is tied for the most in a single season with Osi Umenyiora.
After the Bears, Tillman spent a season with the Carolina Panthers in 2015 and lost Super Bowl 50 to the Denver Broncos in Peyton Manning's farewell tour. Despite being 34 at the time, Tillman played a pivotal role for the 2015 Panthers as a veteran leader. Outside of football, Tillman became an FBI agent and excelled in this role from 2018 to 2025.
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Time will tell whether Tillman is voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but having his jersey retired by the Bears for his contributions to so many championship-level defenses is almost guaranteed.