On Tuesday night, the Pro Football Hall of Fame revealed the 108 nominees for the class of 2018. Headlining the group are Randy Moss, Ray Lewis, and not the Steve Smith you're thinking of (the Steve Smith you're thinking of -- the Panthers and Ravens great -- isn't eligible yet). And yes, Terrell Owens, who is not at all happy about not already being a Hall of Famer, is on the list.
In all, there are 53 offensive players, 38 defensive players, five special teams players and 12 coaches. Here's the entire group, via the Pro Football Hall of Fame's website:
Quarterbacks (5):
- Randall Cunningham
- Rich Gannon
- Donovan McNabb
- Steve McNair
- Phil Simms
Running backs (10):
- Tiki Barber
- Earnest Byner
- Roger Craig
- Corey Dillon
- Eddie George
- Edgerrin James
- Lorenzo Neal
- Fred Taylor
- Herschel Walker (also KR)
- Ricky Watters
Wide receivers (13):
- Isaac Bruce
- Donald Driver
- Henry Ellard (also PR)
- Torry Holt
- Chad Johnson
- Randy Moss
- Terrell Owens
- Sterling Sharpe
- Jimmy Smith
- Rod Smith, Steve Smith
- John Taylor
- Hines Ward
Tight ends (4)
- Mark Bavaro
- Ben Coates
- Ferrell Edmunds
- Jay Novacek
Offensive linemen (21)
- Willie Anderson (T),
- Matt Birk (C)
- Tony Boselli (T)
- Lomas Brown (T)
- Ruben Brown (G)
- Ray Donaldson (C)
- Alan Faneca (G)
- Bill Fralic (G/T)
- Jay Hilgenberg (C)
- Chris Hinton (G/T)
- Kent Hull (C)
- Steve Hutchinson (G)
- Joe Jacoby (T)
- Mike Kenn (T)
- Kevin Mawae (C/G)
- Tom Nalen (C)
- Nate Newton (G)
- Bart Oates (C)
- Jeff Saturday (C)
- Richmond Webb (T)
- Steve Wisniewski (G)
Defensive linemen (11)
- La'Roi Glover (DT/NT)
- Leonard Marshall (DE/DT)
- Keith Millard (DT/NT/DE)
- Leslie O'Neal (DE)
- Michael Dean Perry (DT/DE)
- Simeon Rice (DE)
- Richard Seymour (DT)
- Neil Smith (DE)
- Greg Townsend (DE/NT/LB)
- Kyle Vanden Bosch (DE)
- Bryant Young (DT)
Linebackers (15)
- Carl Banks
- Cornelius Bennett
- Tedy Bruschi
- Seth Joyner
- Ray Lewis
- Greg Lloyd
- Wilber Marshall
- Clay Matthews
- Willie McGinest (also DE)
- Karl Mecklenburg
- Sam Mills
- Joey Porter
- Darryl Talley
- Zach Thomas
- Brian Urlacher
Defensive backs (12)
- Eric Allen (CB)
- Steve Atwater (S)
- Ronde Barber (CB/S)
- LeRoy Butler (S)
- Brian Dawkins (SS)
- Rodney Harrison (S)
- Ty Law (CB)
- Albert Lewis (CB)
- John Lynch (S)
- Dennis Smith (S)
- Everson Walls (CB)
- Darren Woodson (S)
Kickers/punters (3)
- Gary Anderson (K)
- Sean Landeta (P)
- Nick Lowery (K)
Special teams (2)
- Brian Mitchell (KR/PR also RB)
- Steve Tasker (ST also WR)
Coaches (12)
- Don Coryell
- Bill Cowher
- Tom Flores
- Mike Holmgren
- Jimmy Johnson
- Chuck Knox
- Buddy Parker
- Richie Petitbon
- Dan Reeves
- Marty Schottenheimer
- Clark Shaughnessy
- Dick Vermeil
Joining that group are Jerry Kramer, Robert Brazile and Bobby Beathard, who were already announced as the first three candidates in August. Unlike Kramer, Brazile, and Beathard the players above are not guaranteed to be finalists. After a process that whittles down the list, 15 modern-era finalists eventually will join Beathard, Kramer and Brazile on the final list. The final vote will take place in February. Somewhere between four and eight new members will be selected.
Back in August, our John Breech guessed which five modern-era finalists will end up making it into the Hall of Fame next year. Here's his list:
- Terrell Owens
- Ray Lewis
- Alan Faneca
- John Lynch
- Don Coryell
Thoughts?