129 Modern-era Nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2023 were announced on Wednesday. Nine of the nominees are in their first year of eligibility.
NaVorro Bowman
Kam Chancellor
Jahri Evans
Dwight Freeney
James Harrison
Chris Johnson
Shane Lechler
Darrelle Revis
Joe Thomas
The rest of the nominees have been through the Hall of Fame cycle before. Some have been through it many times.
The list of nominees consists of 67 offensive players, 50 defensive players, and 12 special teams players. The 129 nominees will be reduced to 25 semi-finalists in November. The 25 semi-finalists will be reduced to 15 finalists in January. The Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2023 will be announced in advance of the Super Bowl LVII.
Modern-Era Nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2023
*-2022 finalist
Quarterbacks (6)
Randall Cunningham
Jake Delhomme
Jeff Garcia
Dave Krieg
Donovan McNabb
Steve McNair
Running Backs (17)
Shaun Alexander
Mike Alstott
Tiki Barber
Larry Centers
Corey Dillon
Warrick Dunn
Eddie George
Priest Holmes
Steven Jackson
Chris Johnson
Vonta Leach
Jamal Lewis
Lorenzo Neal
Eric Metcalf
Fred Taylor
Ricky Watters
Brian Westbrook
Wide Receivers (20)
Anquan Boldin
Troy Brown
Donald Driver
Henry Ellard
Irving Fryar
*Devin Hester
*Torry Holt
Joe Horn
Chad Johnson
*Andre Johnson
Derrick Mason
Mushin Muhammad
Andre Rison
Jimmy Smith
Rod Smith
Steve Smith Jr.
Hines Ward
*Reggie Wayne
Wes Welker
Roddy White
Tight Ends (3)
Dallas Clark
Ben Coates
Wesley Walls
Offensive Linemen (21)
*Willie Anderson
Matt Birk
Lomas Brown
Ruben Brown
Jahri Evans
D’Brickashaw Ferguson
Kevin Glover
Jordan Gross
Olin Kreutz
Nick Mangold
Logan Mankins
Tom Nalen
Nate Newton
Jeff Saturday
Mark Schlereth
Chris Snee
Joe Thomas
Brian Waters
Richmond Webb
Erik Williams
Steve Wisniewski
Defensive Linemen (14)
John Abraham
*Jared Allen
Dwight Freeney
La’Roi Glover
Casey Hampton
Robert Mathis
Leslie O’Neal
Simeon Rice
Clyde Simmons
Justin Smith
Neil Smith
Justin Tuck
Vince Wilfork
Kevin Williams
Linebackers (17)
Jessie Armstead
Cornelius Bennett
NaVorro Bowman
Lance Briggs
Chad Brown
Teddy Bruschi
James Farrior
London Fletcher
James Harrison
Seth Joyner
Willie McGinest
Takeo Spikes
Pat Swilling
*Zach Thomas
*DeMarcus Ware
*Patrick Willis
Al Wilson
Defensive Backs (19)
Eric Allen
*Ronde Barber
Dre’ Bly
Kam Chancellor
Nick Collins
Antonio Cromartie
Merton Hanks
Rodney Harrison
Albert Lewis
Terry McDaniel
Tim McDonald
Darrelle Revis
Allen Rossum
Asante Samuel
Bob Sanders
Charles Tillman
Troy Vincent
Adrian Wilson
Darren Woodson
Punters/Kickers (10)
Gary Anderson
Jason Elam
Jeff Feagles
Jason Hanson
John Kasay
Sean Landeta
Shane Lechler
Ryan Longwell
Pat McAfee
Matt Turk
Special Teams (2)
Josh Cribbs
Brian Mitchell
***
Receiver troubles?
A receiver logjam is forming. Again. Three of the 20 nominees at the position were finalists last year. Devin Hester was a finalist for his returns. Steve Smith Sr. and Hines Ward were not finalists but had legit Hall of Fame-worthy careers. In my opinion, Smith is the most deserving of the bunch. While I hate the idea of reserving a Hall spot for a particular position, something probably needs to be done to ease the growing receiver problem. The Cris Carter-Tim Brown-Andre Reed-Art Monk logjam of a decade ago was a tough experience.
Darrelle Revis and Joe Thomas should make it to Canton in their first year of eligibility. That leaves three spots for far too many worthy candidates. That should be expected. It’s the Pro Football Hall of Fame. It should be exclusive. In thinking about who should make it to Canton next year, it’s often best to start with who nearly made it last year. There are 10 2022 finalists among the nominees.
Devin Hester
Torry Holt
Andre Johnson
Reggie Wayne
Willie Anderson
Jared Allen
Zach Thomas
DeMarcus Ware
Patrick Willis
Ronde Barber
My immediate thought is that the three remaining spots should be filled by Devin Hester, Patrick Willis and a tough decision between Jared Allen and DeMarcus Ware. Each were among the very best players of their era. Hester is easily one the best returners I’ve ever seen. Special teams has always been considered a part-time job. He changed games like “full-time” players. Willis is one of the best linebackers I’ve ever seen. It’s as simple as that. As for Allen and Ware, I’m leaning Allen but that could be my Vikings fandom shouting at me.
So, there it is. My Modern-era Class of 2023:
Joe Thomas
Darrelle Revis
Devin Hester
Patrick Willis
Jared Allen
That’s a fun Class. I’d go to Canton in August for that Class. Then again, I’d go to Canton in August for any Class.
However the Modern-era voting shakes out, they should be joined by the Senior Finalists:
Chuck Howley
Joe Klecko
Ken Riley
And Coach/Contributor Finalist:
Don Coryell
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