2023 Hall of Fame (and Media personalities) 1st Round List

[Rain Man]

Here you go - 129 players on the first list.

Bold players are first-time nominees.

Red players played for the greatest NFL franchise ever.


QUARTERBACKS (6): Randall Cunningham, Jake Delhomme, Jeff Garcia, Dave Krieg, Donovan McNabb, Steve McNair.

RUNNING BACKS (17): Shaun Alexander, Mike Alstott (FB), Tiki Barber, Larry Centers (FB), Corey Dillon, Warrick Dunn, Eddie George, Priest Holmes, Steven Jackson, Chris Johnson, Vonta Leach (FB), Jamal Lewis, Lorenzo Neal (FB), Eric Metcalf (also WR/PR/KR), Fred Taylor, Ricky Watters, Brian Westbrook.

WIDE RECEIVERS (20): Anquan Boldin, Troy Brown (also PR/KR), Donald Driver, Henry Ellard (also PR), Irving Fryar, *Devin Hester (also PR/KR), *Torry Holt, Joe Horn, Chad Johnson, *Andre Johnson, Derrick Mason, Muhsin Muhammad, Andre Rison, Jimmy Smith, Rod Smith, Steve Smith Sr., Hines Ward, *Reggie Wayne, Wes Welker, Roddy White.

TIGHT ENDS (3): Dallas Clark, Ben Coates, Wesley Walls.

OFFENSIVE LINEMEN (21): *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 Kreutz (C), Nick Mangold (C), Logan Mankins (G), Tom Nalen (C), Nate Newton (G/T), Jeff Saturday (C), Mark Schlereth (G/C), Chris Snee (G), Joe Thomas (T), Brian Waters (G), Richmond Webb (T), Erik Williams (T), Steve Wisniewski (G).

DEFENSIVE LINEMEN (14): John Abraham (DE, also LB), *Jared Allen (DE), Dwight Freeney (DE), La’Roi Glover (DT/NT), Casey Hampton (DT/NT), Robert Mathis (DE), Leslie O’Neal (DE), Simeon Rice (DE), Clyde Simmons (DE/DT), Justin Smith (DE), Neil Smith (DE), Justin Tuck (DE), Vince Wilfork (DT/NT), Kevin Williams (DT/DE).

LINEBACKERS (17): Jessie Armstead, Cornelius Bennett, NaVorro Bowman, Lance Briggs, Chad Brown, Tedy Bruschi, James Farrior, London Fletcher, James Harrison, Seth Joyner, Willie McGinest (also DE), Takeo Spikes, Pat Swilling (also DE), *Zach Thomas, *DeMarcus Ware, *Patrick Willis, Al Wilson.

DEFENSIVE BACKS (19): 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 (S), Charles Tillman (CB), Troy Vincent (CB), Adrian Wilson (S), Darren Woodson (S).

PUNTERS/KICKERS (10): 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 (2): Josh Cribbs (KR/PR also WR), Brian Mitchell (KR/PR also RB).

[Gadzooks]

Leslie O'Neal!!!

[Rain Man]

The new guys seem strong at first glance, but I'm not sure that any of them have the resume to be a first-ballot guy. Obviously several will get in at some point, but none of them have slam-dunk resumes. The best prospects are going to be:

Joe Thomas - 10 pro bowls and 6 all pros in an 11-year career. (Compare to Wil Shields with 12 pro bowls and 2 all pros, who took 5 years to get in.)

Darelle Revis - 6 pro bowls and 4 all pros in an 11-year career. (Compare to Albert Lewis who is still waiting for 18 years after 4 pro bowls and 2 all pros in a 16-year career.)

That said, I think those guys will get in on the first ballot because I don't think there's stronger competition at their position other than maybe Albert Lewis.

So if they get two spots, who do the other 2 to 4 spots go to? My recommendation would be:

Torry Holt
Jared Allen
Albert Lewis

I could see Gary Anderson or Demarcus Ware sneaking in to a final spot. Maybe Lance Briggs or Neil Smith or even James Harrison since the media people seemed to swoon over James Harrison. Charles Tillman is a long shot since he's got Revis and Albert ahead of him in line.

Who else do you see on that list?

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by Gadzooks

Leslie O'Neal!!!

I should have included him on my list. I think he's definitely a strong candidate this year. I'd vote for him over Ware or even Neil Smith. I think he's in line behind Jared Allen, though.

[MagicHef]

What do the asterisks mean?

[Bump]

for the first time nominees

Darrelle Revis and Dwight Freeney are probably locks

Joe Thomas maybe a lock, but he played for the Browns..


I think guys like Anquan Boldin, Steve Smith, Andre Johnson could possibly get in or maybe Leslie O'Neal or Willie Anderson

probably overlooking someone

[Jamie]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

Albert Lewis (CB),

That reminds me, a few weeks ago on Chris Simms' podcast Tony Dungy mentioned Albert Lewis as someone who should be in the Hall of Fame, and called him the best corner he'd ever been around.

[oldman]

Brian Waters has been overlooked for many years, so he'd get my vote.

[ThaVirus]

Wow, lots of Hall of Very Good on there.

[the steam]

Thomas is a lock

[MarkDavis'Haircut]

Rainman,

I didn't realize so many of those players suited up for the Dayton Triangles!

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by MagicHef

What do the asterisks mean?

Apparently it means they were a top-15 finalist last year.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by Carr4MVP

Rainman,

I didn't realize so many of those players suited up for the Dayton Triangles!

I think Bob Sanders played for them. He may have been the greatest player ever based on what I've read and heard. It's unfortunate that I never got to see him play.

[KChiefs1]

Albert Lewis made the semifinals.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by KChiefs1

Albert Lewis made the semifinals.

That's exciting news. I really think he deserves it.