The NFL’s list of 2022 Hall of Fame modern-era nominees has been announced in advance of determining the 2022 Hall of Fame class. The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the pinnacle for all NFL athletes. Players must exemplify terrific on-field traits and be a pillar in their community to be considered. Only five modern-era nominees are selected each year, making it one of the more elusive honors in professional sports.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame announced their 122 modern-era nominees as part of their early-round process. The group, which contains 10 first-year eligible players, has 65 players from the offensive side of the ball, 46 defensive players, and 11 specialists.
Wide receivers Anquan Boldin, Devin Hester, Andre Johnson, and Steve Smith were represented alongside offensive linemen Jake Long and Nick Mangold as first-year-eligible offensive players. Defensive linemen Robert Mathis and Vince Wilfork join linebacker DeMarcus Ware and cornerback Antonio Cromartie as first-year-eligible players on defense.
This list will be shortened to just 25 semifinalists in November before trimming to 15 finalists in January.
122 modern-era nominees announced for 2022 Hall of Fame class
Let’s start with the offensive side of the 2022 Hall of Fame modern-era nominees.
Quarterbacks + running backs
- Randall Cunningham, QB
- Jake Delhomme, QB
- Boomer Esiason, QB
- Jeff Garcia, QB
- Dave Krieg, QB
- Donovan McNabb, QB
- Steve McNair, QB
- Shaun Alexander, RB
- Mike Alstott, FB
- Tiki Barber, RB
- Earnest Byner, RB
- Larry Centers, FB
- Corey Dillon, RB
- Eddie George, RB
- Priest Holmes, RB
- Steven Jackson, RB
- Jamal Lewis, RB
- Eric Metcalf, RB
- Lorenzo Neal, FB
- Fred Taylor, RB
- Herschel Walker, RB
- Ricky Watters, RB
- Brian Westbrook, RB
Wide receivers + tight ends
- Anquan Boldin, WR
- Troy Brown, WR
- Donald Driver, WR
- Henry Ellard, WR
- Devin Hester, WR
- Torry Holt, WR
- Joe Horn, WR
- Andre Johnson, WR
- Chad Johnson, WR
- Derrick Mason, WR
- Muhsin Muhammad, WR
- Andre Rison, WR
- Jimmy Smith, WR
- Rod Smith, WR
- Steve Smith, WR
- Hines Ward, WR
- Reggie Wayne, WR
- Wes Welker, WR
- Dallas Clark, TE
- Ben Coates, TE
- Brent Jones, TE
- Heath Miller, TE
- Wesley Walls, TE
Linemen
- Willie Anderson, OT
- Matt Birk, OC
- Tony Boselli, OT
- Lomas Brown, OT
- Ruben Brown, OG
- D’Brickashaw Ferguson, OT
- Kevin Glover, OC/OG
- Jordan Gross, OT
- Olin Kreutz, OC
- Jake Long, OT
- Nick Mangold, OC
- Logan Mankins, OG
- Jesse Sapolu, OC/OG
- Jeff Saturday, OC
- Chris Snee, OG
- Brian Waters, OG
- Richmond Webb, OT
- Erik Williams, OT
- Steve Wisniewski, OG
- John Abraham, DE
- Jared Allen, DE
- La’Roi Glover, DT
- Casey Hampton, DT
- Robert Mathis, DE
- Leslie O’Neal, DE
- Michael Dean Perry, DT
- Simeon Rice, DE
- Richard Seymour, DT
- Justin Smith, DE
- Neil Smith, DE
- Greg Townsend, DE
- Justin Tuck, DE
- Vince Wilfork, DT
- Kevin Williams, DT
- Bryant Young, DT
Linebackers + defensive backs
- Cornelius Bennett, LB
- Lance Briggs, LB
- Tedy Bruschi, LB
- London Fletcher, LB
- Seth Joyner, LB
- Willie McGinest, LB
- Sam Mills, LB
- Hardy Nickerson Sr., LB
- Takeo Spikes, LB
- Pat Swilling, LB
- Zach Thomas, LB
- DeMarcus Ware, LB
- Patrick Willis, LB
- Eric Allen, CB
- Ronde Barber, CB
- Dre Bly, DB
- LeRoy Butler, S
- Nick Collins, S
- Antonio Cromartie, CB
- Merton Hanks, S
- Rodney Harrison, S
- Albert Lewis, CB
- Tim McDonald, S
- Allen Rossum, DB
- Asante Samuel, CB
- Bob Sanders, S
- Charles Tillman, CB
- Troy Vincent, CB
- Adrian Wilson, S
- Darren Woodson, S
Specialists
- Gary Anderson, K
- Jeff Feagles, P
- John Kasey, K
- Sean Landeta, P
- Ryan Longwell, K
- Reggie Roby, P
- Matt Turk, P
- Josh Cribbs, KR/PR
- Mel Gray, KR/PR
- Brian Mitchell, KR/PR
- Steve Tasker, ST
How does the Pro Football Hall of Fame choose modern-era nominees?
The Pro Football Hall of Fame selects modern-era nominees by beginning with a nomination process in which any fan can nominate a player. The 46-person selection committee then analyzes the nominees’ impact on the game and eligibility status. Enshrinees must have been retired from the game for at least five years.
The selection committee is polled three times before the final list is determined. The committee then studies this list and ensures that no candidates were overlooked. The initial list is considered all summer long before the first polling of the new league year is done in September. At that point, the committee members can vote for anyone not on the “second preliminary list.”
That list is disseminated for fan and media consumption as the modern-era nominees. This list will then be polled twice by the selection committee — once in October to get down to 25 candidates, and once in November to move to 15 finalists.