This weekend, the Pro Football Hall of Fame
http://www.billsonlineofficial.com/shop-by-players-richie-incognito-jersey-c-1_42.html will enshrine the Class of 2017 in Canton, Ohio. Who should earn this honor next year? What about in 2022? Elliot Harrison looks ahead and shares who he would put on his ballot for the next five classes of Hall of Famers.
Brian Dawkins, safety
Putting Dawkins first on my faux ballot is intentional -- he's the most deserving. Dawkins has already waited one year. Given that he is a safety, a position to which the voters have demonstrated a decades-long aversion, he might have to sit next to the phone a bit longer in reality. But that's bunk. All of it, man. Forget that Dawkins was a four-time first-team All-Pro, the best player at his position in the early 2000s, or on the All-Decade Team for the 2000s, and remember what he wasn't: a distraction. (Take a look at the following names on this ballot for the relevance of that statement.) Remarkably, Dawkins isn't considered a shoo-in for the Hall despite compiling 91 impact plays over his career (37 interceptions, 28 forced fumbles and 26 sacks).
Unlike his contemporary Dawkins (both came into the league in 1996), Lewis won't have to wait. Lewis remains a lock for the Hall of Fame, as he
http://www.billsshopofficial.com/shop-by-players-nick-oleary-jersey-c-1_36.html was oft-mentioned in that regard while still playing. He is part of an exclusive fraternity of players who have won multiple DPOY awards since the honor became official in 1971, a who's who of legends: "Mean" Joe Greene, Lawrence Taylor, Mike Singletary, Reggie White, Bruce Smith and J.J. Watt. All but the still-active Watt are first-ballot enshrinees in Canton. Lewis is one of only two guys to be named the league's top defensive player and Super Bowl MVP during the same season (Harvey Martin, who was named co-MVP of Super Bowl XII after being the DPOY of 1977). Named to the All-Decade Team of the 2000s, Lewis performed at a high level for well over 10 years with the Ravens.
Alan Faneca, guard
As a member of the Steelers from 1998 to 2007, Faneca had to get out in space and block Lewis a time or 200. Along with Steve Hutchinson, Faneca was the best player at his position in the early 2000s, making first-team All-Pro six times. When you talk about putting a guard in the Hall of Fame, you must mention the credentials, although sometimes that rings hollow. People get tired of hearing about Pro Bowls and the like. Thus, here are two items that more than support Faneca's enshrinement. Dermontti Dawson, a Hall of Fame
Mario Williams Womens Jersey center for the Steelers, told me that he could tell Faneca was special during Faneca's first training camp. Also, in supporting Faneca's candidacy earlier this year, I pulled a random play in a random game from 2003 to share with the masses. Take a look:
