CANTON, Ohio — Pro Football Hall of Fame weekend includes a lot of appearances for the enshrinees, and they have to give a speech, so it can be a nerve-wracking weekend.

But Sunday afternoon during the Class of 2026 Unscripted & Tailgate, they got to talk a little ball for a few minutes, which is what they all enjoy. ​

So for Luke Kuechly getting to get on a whiteboard and draw Drew Brees' plays for him, go chapter-and-verse on Larry Fitzgerald routes, and reminisce about lucky chicken and sandwiches during 2015 was something he clearly enjoyed.

Especially when NFL Network host Steve Wyche teed them up to talk about the Rain Game of 2013, when Kuechly tied an all-time record with 24 tackles and also had an interception in a key win over the Saints that helped the Panthers secure the NFC South title.

"Yeah, I hit him right in the chest," Brees said, as Kuechly grinned from the opposite side of the stage at the Canton Civic Center.

Those were the kind of moments that unfolded over an hour of panel discussion with this year's class. Kuechly, Brees, Fitzgerald, and Adam Vinatieri chopped it up for an hour, and they all acknowledged the absence of classmate Roger Craig.

The former 49ers running back revealed a diagnosis of vascular dementia during his speech on Saturday, and wasn't on stage Sunday, and they all clearly missed him.

"The thing that stands out to me with Roger Craig, it's just the love you develop for a teammate," Brees said. "First off, it's so beautiful seeing all his teammates here, all the guys that he played with. To me, that's what this game is all about, just that love that you develop. Obviously this has been a long time coming for Roger.

"I think for all of us, as we've learned more about him, you see all the highlights and everything, you're like, 'Man, what took so stinking long?' This guy's a legend, but, honestly, that I think that epitomizes what it's meant to all of us."​

If there's one hallmark of this year's class, it's the way they've cared for Craig, in a real and human and compassionate way.

As he went down the stairs for the team picture Friday, Kuechly held him gently by the elbow and the small of the back to steady him. And on the way back and forth, Kuechly and Larry Fitzgerald walked alongside him, offering water and being solicitous at every turn.

"I think our class is phenomenal, and like Drew said, I think one of the most fun parts is seeing the guys rally around Roger. We're sitting at that lunch, and Charles Haley came over, Ronnie Lott was right there, some of his teammates that he played with, Steve Young, Joe Montana, all those guys are there. And just to see the joy that they have for Roger and finally get the recognition that he deserves."

That was during the annual Ray Nitschke Luncheon, held on Friday right after that team picture. That event is Hall-of-Famers only. No wives or girlfriends, agents or teammates. Just the 120 guys with gold jackets alongside this year's class, with the only rule that rookies don't get to talk.

Just a bunch of dudes talking ball is clearly something Kuechly enjoys, so that luncheon was right up his alley.

"There were great moments throughout the whole week, and I think the one that stuck out to me was the Nitschke Luncheon. I think the opportunity to sit there and listen to those guys talk — a couple of guys got up and spoke from all eras, not just our era, but prior to that. (Former Chiefs outside linebacker of the 1960s and Shelby, N.C. native) Bobby Bell has been here for 43 years in a row, and he's seen just about everybody go in.

"So I think hearing perspective from those guys about what it was like when they were playing, what they've seen, the progression of the game, and it felt like being in a locker room again. It's like 120 guys, and it felt like you were in the locker room again; the same jokes, the same personalities, and it made you feel like, 'Hey, we're back part of the team again.'"

And they are — the greatest team ever.

Kuechly said when the linebackers took a group picture, and he was surrounded by Mike Singletary, Harry Carson, and peers like Patrick Willis and Zach Thomas, it began to dawn on him.

"It's pretty cool," Kuechly said. "And you look around and it's the guys that you watched growing up and it's the guys that they watched growing up and that's, that's been the coolest part about this whole week is the perspective from those guys and how the game was viewed in their eyes versus how it's viewed now and how much of the game has changed, but the guys are still are still exactly, exactly the same.

"So it's, it's a great fraternity to be a part of."

When Wyche asked each of the guys about their favorite foods, and whether any of them became in-season traditions, Kuechly's eyes lit up, and he went straight back to 2015, when they won 14 straight games during a 15-1 season that led to the Super Bowl.

"After Week 3 or 4, things that you've done during the past couple of weeks, now it needs to happen," Kuechly said. "So one of the first things was on Mondays, Thomas Davis was coming and bringing Bojangles."

Kuechly then paused to explain Bojangles to the Canton crowd, even though they have a location right there on Everhard Road.

"And then on Tuesday afternoon, I would go to the same restaurant in Charlotte, it's called Roasting Company, and I would get a Buffalo chicken wrap. And every week I would come in on Tuesday, and they'd have it waiting for me when I walked in. Because we'd go in, you do your work with the team, watch tape, and then I would go eat there every week. And it got to the point where it was so routine, and in the one week we didn't do it, it was a Christmas game. We played Atlanta in Atlanta, and we lost that game, and the week was weird because it was Christmas, so Thomas didn't bring the Bojangles in. I didn't have my Roasting Company, and we lost.

"So that next week Thomas had the Bojangles, and then I walked in the Roasting Company, and I walked in there, and everybody in the whole restaurant looked at me like, 'Where were you last week?' Like it was my fault.

"So then, so then the next week we ended up winning and we, we obviously went all the way to the Super Bowl that year, and we had Bojangles shipped out, and Roasting Company was, was shipped out as well. So we crossed everything off the list, and the game obviously didn't go the way we wanted it to, but that was a fun routine for me that year. It's only, it's only superstitious if it doesn't work."

But the most fun they had was talking about football, like when Fitzgerald salivated at the memory of being covered one-on-one by Kuechly on a Hail Mary play, when all Kuechly was supposed to do was slow him down for a moment.

"We played you guys in the playoffs in 2014; at the end of the first half, you guys are throwing a Hail Mary play up. And our Hail Mary defense was, we had all the DBs back in the end zone, and then the linebackers, Thomas (Davis) and I had to press the wide receivers.

"I don't know why we had to press them because they just run right past us," Kuechly laughed. "So I lined up across from Larry, and he looked at me, and he smiled, and he said, 'I'm just going to run right past you, you can't keep up with me.' I'm like, 'Larry, I don't know what to tell you, but I got to stand right here and act like I'm going to try to guard you.' And then, you do the tricky thing, you try to knock his hand down, you try to pull his shirt down, and Larry just ran right past me. You just hope they don't throw it to him."

But the real highlight was when they pulled the whiteboards out from under their chairs, and Kuechly got to partake in the "football nerd stuff," with the former Saints quarterback he's always enjoyed.

Brees drew a play, Kuechly drew a counter, and they spent several minutes debating the intricacies of the play, from Kuechly saying "you guys called that Indigo" and that they referred to the motion as "Bull-(then politely spelled out the rest of the word) play action.

"No one runs that run play," he added.

Brees pointed to an outside slant-and-go, and liked his chances. "This is going to be Josh Norman; he's not going to be able to help himself."​

Brees continued his explanation, and Kuechly cracked, "There's a lot of time to block, and you better make sure, you better make sure (center Zach) Strief's got a good second."

"I'm staring at you because I know that you know that's a BS play action thing," Brees replied after a few moments of football words about this hypothetical play. "And so you are going to feather that vertical and act like that's who you got, and then you're going to come off real quick, and you're going to steal this deep end, aren't you?"

"I'm going to sit just inside the hash," Kuechly said.

"You did it to Romo," Brees replied, referring to the 2015 Thanksgiving game.

And they went on for this for a few minutes, just a couple of teammates talking ball.

And they looked happy.