Hall of Fame Semifinalists

The 94 nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class 2017 was trimmed to 26 semifinalists this week. It's supposed to be 25 but there was a tie.

Here are the semifinalists.

1. Morten Anderson, kicker (New Orleans Saints, 1982-1994; Atlanta Falcons, 1995-2000; 2006-07; New York Giants, 2001; Kansas City Chiefs, 2002-03; Minnesota Vikings, 2004)
2. Steve Atwater, safety (Denver Broncos, 1989-1998; New York Jets, 1999)
3. Tony Boselli, offensive tackle (Jacksonville Jaguars, 1995-2001; Houston Texans, 2002)
4. Isaac Bruce, wide receiver (Los Angeles Rams, 1994; St. Louis Rams, 1995-2007; San Francisco 49ers, 2008-09)
5. Don Coryell, coach (St. Louis Cardinals, 1973-77; San Diego Chargers, 1978-1986)
6. Roger Craig, running back (San Francisco 49ers, 1983-1990; Los Angeles Raiders, 1991; Minnesota Vikings, 1992-93)
7. Terrell Davis, running back (Denver Broncos, 1995-2001)
8. Brian Dawkins, safety (Philadelphia Eagles, 1996-2008; Denver Broncos, 2009-2011)
9. Alan Faneca, guard (Pittsburgh Steelers, 1998-2007; New York Jets, 2008-09; Arizona Cardinals, 2010)
10. Chris Hinton, offensive tackle/guard (Baltimore Colts, 1983; Indianapolis Colts, 1984-89; Atlanta Falcons, 1990-93; Minnesota Vikings, 1994-95)
11. Torry Holt, wide receiver (St. Louis Rams, 1999-2008; Jacksonville Jaguars, 2009)
12. Joe Jacoby, offensive tackle (Washington Redskins, 1981-1993)
13. Edgerrin James, running back (Indianapolis Colts, 1999-2005; Arizona Cardinals, 2006-08; Seattle Seahawks, 2009)
14. Jimmy Johnson, coach (Dallas Cowboys, 1989-1993; Miami Dolphins, 1996-99)
15. Mike Kenn, offensive tackle (Atlanta Falcons, 1978-1994)
16. Ty Law, cornerback (New England Patriots, 1995-2004; New York Jets, 2005, '08; Kansas City Chiefs, 2006-07; Denver Broncos, 2009)
17. John Lynch, safety (Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1993-2003; Denver Broncos, 2004-07)
18. Clay Matthews, linebacker (Cleveland Browns, 1978-1993; Atlanta Falcons, 1994-96)
19. Kevin Mawae, center (Seattle Seahawks, 1994-97; New York Jets, 1998-2005; Tennessee Titans, 2006-09)
20. Karl Mecklenburg, linebacker (Denver Broncos, 1983-1994)
21. Terrell Owens, wide receiver (San Francisco 49ers, 1996-2003; Philadelphia Eagles, 2004-05; Dallas Cowboys, 2006-08; Buffalo Bills, 2009; Cincinnati Bengals, 2010)
22. Jason Taylor, defensive end (Miami Dolphins, 1997-2007, '09, 2011; Washington Redskins, 2008; New York Jets, 2010)
23. LaDainian, Tomlinson, running back (San Diego Chargers, 2001-09; New York Jets, 2010-11)
24. Hines Ward, wide receiver (Pittsburgh Steelers, 1998-2011)
25. Kurt Warner, quarterback (St. Louis Rams, 1998-2003; New York Giants, 2004; Arizona Cardinals, 2005-09)
26. Darren Woodson, safety (Dallas Cowboys, 1992-2003)

The 26 semifinalist will be trimmed to 15 finalists in early January. Those 15 will join Senior Finalist Kenny Easley and Contributor Finalists Jerry Jones and Paul Tagliabue for a final debate and vote on the eve of Super Bowl LI.

The semifinalists include first-year eligibles LaDanian Tomlinson, Hines Ward, Brian Dawkins, and Jason Taylor.

Kurt Warner, Terrell Davis, Terrell Owens, John Lynch, and Don Coryell were finalists last year.

This voting is going to be tough but it was never intended to be easy. It's the Pro Football Hall of Fame! The one automatic, in my opinion, is LaDanian Tomlinson. They could start his bust and jacket-fitting now. Jason Taylor and Brian Dawkins will likely have strong support in their first shot at the Hall. I think that Taylor has the better shot. Dawkins might have to wait for fellow safety John Lynch. Although I personally believe that Dawkins is more deserving. He was a more complete safety. Hines Ward should take his place in the always growing line of deserving receivers.

Here's my prediction for the five-member modern era class.

LaDanian Tomlinson
Jason Taylor
Terrell Davis
Don Coryell
Alan Faneca

Those five would join Kenny Easley, Jerry Jones, and Paul Tagliabue for another big, eight-member Hall of Fame class.

I would prefer to have a receiver in the class because there's going to be a monster of a logjam at the position if one doesn't go in every year. I just hate the idea of filling each class on a quota system. It should be the most deserving every year.

The actual class will probably include Kurt Warner and Terrell Owens. Warner is a puzzle for me. He had a Hall of Fame start to his career and a Hall of Fame end but he didn't have a Hall of Fame middle. As for Owens, I just have a hard time immortalizing a receiver that had such a struggle with catching a football. That's a basic act that any receiver. let alone a Hall of Fame receiver, should be very good at doing. Owens was a fantastic football player but every damn catch was a challenge.

The debate for the Pro Football Fame Class of 2017 should be interesting. There's only one automatic choice (Tomlinson) so the class is wide open and there are so many that are truly deserving. Even the cut to 15 is going to be tough.

Congratulations and good luck to the 26 Semifinalists.