The pool of candidates eligible for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame grew to 108 Wednesday as 11 players were named first-time nominees, according to Pro Football Talk.
Those 108 players all are Modern Era candidates, and the field will be whittled down to 25 in November. Then the day before Super Bowl 50, the committee will choose among 15 Modern Era finalists and the three senior candidates.
These three players should make it on their first try.
Brett Favre
Start chiseling that bust now.
Brett Favre holds the NFL career record with 71,838 passing yards, although he’ll probably be overtaken this season by Peyton Manning, another first-ballot Hall of Famer. Favre’s 508 touchdown passes are second on the all-time list.
The Associated Press named Favre the NFL MVP in 1995, 1996 and 1997, making him the only player to receive the honor three years in a row. Favre led the Packers to a championship in 1996 and back to the Super Bowl in 1997. Favre made 11 Pro Bowls and was named First Team All-Pro three times.
Terrell Owens
There might be a little more discussion at the table with this one, but Owens should get in next year because he dominated the league in his prime.
Owens made the Pro Bowl six times, including every year from 200o to 2004. He also was named First Team All-Pro in four of those five seasons and earned that accolade five times in his career.
After spending the first eight years of his career with the 49ers, Owens went to the Eagles in 2004 and helped them get to Super Bowl XXXIX, leading the team with 77 receptions and 14 touchdown catches. The Eagles lost 24-21 to the Patriots in the Super Bowl, but Owens did all he could in that game, catching nine passes on a broken leg. That should sway some voters who are on the fence.
Owens might lose some votes because he wasn’t always a team player. But it’s hard to argue with 15,934 receiving yards, second on the all-time list. His 153 receiving touchdowns are third on the career list and his 1,078 receptions are sixth.
Alan Faneca
Alan Faneca helped pave the way for Jerome Bettis to make it to the Hall of Fame this year. His blocking is one of the reasons Bettis became the NFL’s sixth all-time leading rusher.
The Steelers ranked in the top 10 in rushing seven times with Faneca at left guard. They were first in 2001 and second in 2004. Faneca made the Pro Bowl every year from 2001 to 2009. The last two of those honors came with the Jets.
Faneca was a first-team All-Pro six times, including 2005. That was the year the Steelers finally won One for the Thumb after a 26-year wait, beating the Seahawks in Super Bowl XL. Faneca started all but seven games in his 13-year career, and he started every game from 2002 until his career ended with the Cardinals in 2010.