2018 Pro Football Hall of Fame Semifinalists

Twenty-seven semifinalists for the 2018 Class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame were announced yesterday. There's supposed to be 25 semifinalists but a three-way tie for the final spot resulted in 27.
The list includes six players in their first year of eligibility.

Ronde Barber, CB
Steve Hutchinson, G
Ray Lewis, LB
Randy Moss, WR
Richard Seymour, DL
Brian Urlacher, LB

Four previously eligible players made it as semifinalists for the first time.

LeRoy Butler, S
Leslie O'Neal, DE
Simeon Rice, DE
Everson Walls, CB

Here are the 17 semifinalists that have gone down this road before.

Steve Atwater, S
Tony Boselli, T
Isaac Bruce, WR
Don Coryell, Coach
Roger Craig, RB
Brian Dawkins, S
Alan Faneca, G
Torry Holt, WR
Joe Jacoby, T
Edgerrin James, RB
Jimmy Johnson, Coach
Ty Law, CB
John Lynch, S
Kevin Mawae, C
Karl Mecklenburg, LB
Terrell Owens, WR
Hines Ward, WR

Whittling every class down to as many as five Hall of Famers is a very difficult chore. This year feels even more difficult than usual. This is a deep group. I can rattle off 17 of the 27 that should be heading to Canton right now. Only five can get in this year. That's tough task. If the decisions were up to me this is the 2018 Pro Football Hall of Fame Class that I'd present for induction.

Ray Lewis
Brian Urlacher
Randy Moss
Brian Dawkins
Tony Boselli
I wanted to get Steve Hutchinson in this class but Boselli and Alan Faneca have been waiting.

NFL Media Senior Analyst Gil Brandt ranked the 27 semifinalist for a column on NFL.com. His ranking resulted in the following Class.

1. Randy Moss
2. Steve Hutchinson
3. Terrell Owens
4. John Lynch
5. Tony Boselli
Brandt has Ray Lewis missing the cut at #6. This is surprising as Lewis is widely considered the closest to a sure thing for this Class.

The next step in the process comes in January when the semifinalists are trimmed to 15 finalists. They will be joined by Senior Nominees Jerry Kramer and Robert Brazile and Contributor Nominee Bobby Beathard for final voting. That occurs on the eve of Super Bowl LII in Minneapolis.