After a decade of battling each other, Joe Thomas and James Harrison are side-by-side as first-time nominees for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame announced the 123 modern-era nominees who will be considered for induction next summer in Canton, Ohio.
Thomas and Harrison are two of nine nominees who are eligible for the first time. The other seven are running back Chris Johnson, offensive lineman Jahri Evans, defensive lineman Dwight Freeney, linebacker NaVorro Bowman, defensive backs Darrelle Revis and Kam Chancellor and punter Shane Lechler.
The list modern-era nominees will be whittled to 25 semifinalists in November. From there, 15 finalists will be announced in January before the official induction class is revealed ahead of Super Bowl LVII. Up to five modern-day nominees can be selected for induction.
In August, the NFL named former defensive lineman Joe Klecko, cornerback Ken Riley and linebacker Chuck Howley as this year’s senior finalists and former coach Don Coryell as a contributor finalist. Each finalist needs to receive 80% of his vote in order to reach induction.
Here’s a look at each modern-era nominee.
* denotes a nominee who was a finalist for a induction in 2022
Quarterbacks
- Randall Cunningham
- Jake Delhomme
- Jeff Garcia
- Dave Krieg
- Donovan McNabb
Running backs
- Shaun Alexander
- Mike Alstott (FB)
- Tiki Barber
- Larry Centers (FB)
- Corey Dillon
- Warrick Dunn
- Priest Holmes
- Eddie George
- Steven Jackson
- Chris Johnson
- Vonta Leech (FB)
- Jamal Lewis
- Lorenzo Neal (FB)
- Eric Metcalf (also a WR/PR/KR)
- Fred Taylor
- Ricky Watters
- Brian Westbrook
Receivers
Tight ends
- Dallas Clark
- Ben Coates
- Wesley Walls
Offensive linemen
- *Willie Anderson (T)
- Matt Birk (C)
- Lomas Brown (T)
- Ruben Brown (G)
- Jahri Evans (G)
- D’Brickashaw Ferguson (T)
- Kevin Glover (C/G)
- Jordan Gross (T)
- Olin Kruetz (C)
- Nick Mangold (C)
- Logan Mankins (C)
- Tom Nalen (C)
- Nate Newton (G/T)
- Jeff Saturday (C)
- Mark Schlaretch (G/C)
- Chris Snee (G)
- Joe Thomas (T)
- Brian Waters (G)
- Richmond Webb (T)
- Erik Williams (T)
- Steve Wisniewski (G)
Defensive linemen
Linebackers
- Jessie Armstead
- Cornelius Bennett
- NaVorro Bowman
- Lance Briggs
- Chad Brown
- Tedy Bruschi
- James Farrior
- London Fletcher
- James Harrison
- Seth Joyner
- Willie McGinest (also a DE)
- Takeo Spikes
- Pat Swilling (also a DE)
- *Zach Thomas
- *DeMarcus Ware
- *Patrick Willis
- Al Wilson
Defensive backs
- Eric Allen (CB)
- Ronde Barber (CB/S)
- Dre’ Bly (CB)
- Kam Chancellor (S)
- Nick Collins (S)
- Antonio Cromartie (CB)
- Merton Hanks (S)
- Rodney Harrison (S)
- Albert Lewis (CB)
- Terry McDaniel (CB)
- Tim McDonald (S)
- Darrelle Revis (CB)
- Allen Rossum (CB)
- Asante Samuel (CB)
- Bob Sanders (CB)
- Charles Tillman CB)
- Troy Vincent (CB)
- Adrian Wilson (S)
- Darren Woodson (S)
Punters/kickers
- Gary Anderson (K)
- Jason Elam (K)
- Jeff Feagles (P)
- Jason Hanson (K)
- John Kasay (K)
- Sean Landeta (P)
- Shane Lechler (P)
- Ryan Longwell (K)
- Pat McAfee (P)
- Matt Turk (P)
Special teams
- Josh Cribbs
- Brian Mitchell