As expected, QB Peyton Manning and DB Charles Woodson were selected for induction in the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s 2021 class. Perhaps a bit more surprisingly, WR Calvin Johnson joined them, giving the class a trio of first-ballot inductees.

Joining the three first-timers are G Alan Faneca and S John Lynch from the modern era; Tom Flores from the coach category, scout Bill Nunn from the contributor category and WR Drew Pearson from the senior category.

The group was selected by the Hall’s 48-person selection committee during a virtual meeting Jan. 19.

It is, in my opinion, a strong class.

The inductions of Manning, who retired with two Super Bowl wins and another two appearances, as well as a litany of records including the all-time passing yardage mark (since broken), and Woodson, who picked off 65 passes, won one of the two Super Bowls he appeared in and dominated from the time he entered the league, were expected.

Megatron was no less dominant during his time (he had more AP First Team honors in nine years than recent inductees Cris

Photo by Kevin810, via Wikipedia

Carter, Andre Reed and Tim Brown had in their combined 24 seasons) in the league, but after getting beat up during nine difficult seasons in Detroit, he hung his cleats up early, leaving his status as a potential first-ballot enshrinee in question. I’m glad to see him in.

Lynch and Faneca are a couple more guys I have been hopeful would see their busts in Canton, OH soon.

Flores struggled in his final three seasons as a head coach in Seattle, but he cemented his place in history with the Raiders, winning two Super Bowls there. I don’t know a lot about Nunn, other than he was a super scout during the time the Steelers grew into dominance in the 1970s. If he was involved in drafting and acquiring guys like John Stallworth, Mel Blount, Donnie Shell and Jack Lambert, it’s hard to claim he doesn’t belong.

And while I am a Vikings fan (though I was a few weeks from being born when the controversial Hail Mary took place) and, thus, have misgivings about some of Drew Pearson’s accomplishments, and while there are other senior candidates I would have probably supported more, Pearson was a significant contributor to the Cowboys’ success of the 1970s and early 1980s.

What are your thoughts? Who should have gotten in instead, who should have been left out?

What do you think of the PFHOF class of 2021

  • Great class. All belong. (55%, 12 Votes)
  • Not bad. Most should be in. A couple not so much. (41%, 9 Votes)
  • Meh. There were a lot of guys I liked better. (5%, 1 Votes)
  • Woof. Who picked this group? (0%, 0 Votes)

Total Voters: 22

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