Pro Hall of Fame Class of 2020 Semifinalists

The Semifinalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2020 were announced yesterday. The 25 modern-era semifinalists include three players in their first year of eligibility-safety Troy Polamalu, receiver Reggie Wayne, and linebacker Patrick Willis. The list also include four players that have been eligible for a while but are semifinalists for the first time-linebacker Carl Banks, running backs Fred Taylor and Ricky Watters, and defensive tackle Bryant Young. The remaining 18 semifinalists have reached this stage of the process as many as nine previous years.

Modern-era Semifinalists Breakdown:

Defense-14
-3 defensive linemen
-5 linebackers
-6 defensive backs

Offense-10
-3 running backs
-4 receivers
-4 offensive linemen

Special Teams-1

Class of 2020 Modern-era Player Semifinalists:

Steve Atwater, S – 1989-1998 Denver Broncos, 1999 New York Jets | (Times as a Semifinalist: 9 – 2012-2020)

Carl Banks, LB – 1984-1992 New York Giants, 1993 Washington Redskins, 1994-95 Cleveland Browns | (Times as a Semifinalist: 1 – 2020)

Ronde Barber, CB/S – 1997-2012 Tampa Bay Buccaneers | (Times as a Semifinalist: 3 – 2018-2020)

Tony Boselli, T – 1995-2001 Jacksonville Jaguars, 2002 Houston Texans (injured reserve) | (Times as a Semifinalist: 5 – 2016-2020)

Isaac Bruce, WR – 1994-2007 Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams, 2008-09 San Francisco 49ers | (Times as a Semifinalist: 6 – 2015-2020)

LeRoy Butler, S – 1990-2001 Green Bay Packers | (Times as a Semifinalist: 3 – 2018-2020)

Alan Faneca, G – 1998-2007 Pittsburgh Steelers, 2008-09 New York Jets, 2010 Arizona Cardinals | (Times as a Semifinalist: 5 – 2016-2020)

Torry Holt, WR – 1999-2008 St. Louis Rams, 2009 Jacksonville Jaguars | (Times as a Semifinalist: 6 – 2015-2020)

Steve Hutchinson, G – 2001-05 Seattle Seahawks, 2006-2011 Minnesota Vikings, 2012 Tennessee Titans | (Times as a Semifinalist: 3 – 2018-2020)

Edgerrin James, RB – 1999-2005 Indianapolis Colts, 2006-08 Arizona Cardinals, 2009 Seattle Seahawks | (Times as a Semifinalist: 6 – 2015-2020)

John Lynch, FS – 1993-2003 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 2004-07 Denver Broncos | (Times as a Semifinalist: 8 – 2013-2020)

Clay Matthews, LB – 1978-1993 Cleveland Browns, 1994-96 Atlanta Falcons | (Times as a Semifinalist: 4 – 2012, 2017, 2019-2020)

Sam Mills, LB – 1986-1994 New Orleans Saints, 1995-97 Carolina Panthers | (Times as a Semifinalist: 3 – 2016, 2019-2020)

Troy Polamalu, S – 2003-2014 Pittsburgh Steelers (Times as a Semifinalist: 1 – 2020)

Simeon Rice, DE – 1996-2000 Arizona Cardinals, 2001-06 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 2007 Denver Broncos, 2007 Indianapolis Colts | (Times as a Semifinalist: 2 – 2018, 2020)

Richard Seymour, DE/DT – 2001-08 New England Patriots, 2009-2012 Oakland Raiders | (Times as a Semifinalist: 3 – 2018-2020)

Steve Tasker, ST/WR – 1985-86 Houston Oilers, 1986-1997 Buffalo Bills | (Times as a Semifinalist: 7 – 2004, 2008-2010, 2012-13, 2020)

Fred Taylor, RB – 1998-2008 Jacksonville Jaguars, 2009-2010 New England Patriots | (Times as a Semifinalist: 1 – 2020)

Zach Thomas, LB – 1996-2007 Miami Dolphins, 2008 Dallas Cowboys | (Times as a Semifinalist: 2 – 2019-2020)

Hines Ward, WR – 1998-2011 Pittsburgh Steelers | (Times as a Semifinalist: 4 – 2017-2020)

Ricky Watters, RB – 1992-94 San Francisco 49ers, 1995-97 Philadelphia Eagles, 1998-2001 Seattle Seahawks | (Times as a Semifinalist: 1 – 2020)

Reggie Wayne, WR – 2001-2014 Indianapolis Colts | (Times as a Semifinalist: 1 – 2020)

Patrick Willis, LB – 2007-2014 San Francisco 49ers | (Times as a Semifinalist: 1 – 2020)

Darren Woodson, S – 1992-2003 Dallas Cowboys | (Times as a Semifinalist: 4 – 2015, 2017, 2019-2020)

Bryant Young, DT – 1994-2007 San Francisco 49ers | (Times as a Semifinalist: 1 – 2020)

***

The Modern-era players list will be reduced to 15 Finalists on Jan. 2, 2020.  The finalists will then be presented to the full 48-member Pro Football Hall of Fame Selection Committee during its annual meeting on “Selection Saturday,” on Feb. 1, 2020, the day before Super Bowl LIV. The Selection Committee will elect five Modern-Era players for the Class of 2020.

The Modern-era Class will be joined by the special Centennial Class to form a giant 2020 Hall of Fame Class of 2020 that could include as many as 20 players, coaches, and contributors. It's been my understanding that the Modern-era players will be inducted on the usual induction weekend in early August and the 15-member Centennial Class will be inducted during a special Centennial Celebration during the weekend of the league's September 17th birthday.

An early guess at the Modern-era Class looks something like this.

Troy Polamalu
Patrick Willis
Steve Hutchinson
Tony Boselli
Alan Faneca

That's very offensive line heavy but those are the five that most strike me as Hall of Famers. I felt that when they were playing. I feel that now. There's been a lot of debate about the safeties, especially Steve Atwater, John Lynch, and LeRoy Butler. Their candidacy has been a puzzle for me. That's probably because they've apparently been a puzzle for the voters. Atwater has now been a semifinalist for nine straight years. If he was such a strong candidate why did it take the voters eight years to finally nudge him into the semifinalist stage? Lynch had to only wait one year to be a semifinalist but that's nothing compared to the 12 years that Butler waited. The voters repeatedly passing on deserving Hall of Fame players is really no reason to push those players aside. If it were there'd be no need for a Senior selection process. There definitely wouldn't be a need for a Centennial Class. Players routinely slip past the voters. For now, I see the above offensive line heavy Class as the most deserving Class.

Speaking of players getting passed over, I'm glad that Carl Banks, Bryant Young, and Fred Taylor are finally getting their first shots at some real Hall of Fame consideration.

Congratulations to the 25 Semifinalists.