Nine former Chiefs among list of modern-era nominees for 2021 Hall of Fame class
Former Chiefs defensive end Jared Allen is among 14 first-year eligible players for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Like the others, Allen last played in the 2015 season. Allen was a fourth-round draft choice by the Chiefs in 2004 and had 43 sacks in four seasons along with 14 forced fumbles and 230 tackles.
A first-team All-Pro in the 2007 season, Allen was then traded to the Vikings with a sixth-round draft pick for the 17th overall pick, a pair of third-round picks and a sixth-rounder.
Allen is one of nine former Chiefs on the list of Modern Era nominees for the Hall of Fame’s class of 2021. Here are the others:
G Brian Waters: A five-time Pro Bowler in his 11 seasons with the Chiefs (2000-10), Waters was twice a first-team All-Pro.
DE Neil Smith: In nine seasons with the Chiefs (1988-96), Smith recorded 85 1/2 sacks and had 104 total in his career. Smith made five Pro Bowls with the Chiefs and was first-team All-Pro in 1993.
DB Albert Lewis: A four-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro in 11 seasons with the Chiefs (1983-93). He intercepted 38 passes, forced seven fumbles and recovered 12 fumbles.
RB Priest Holmes: Rushed for 6,070 yards (second most in Chiefs history) over seven seasons. He was a three-time All-Pro and three-time Pro Bowler in Kansas City (2001-07). Holmes also rushed for 76 touchdowns with the Chiefs.
K Nick Lowery: Lowery is the Chiefs’ all-time leader in points (1,466) and made a franchise-best 329 field goals, while missing just four of his 483 extra-point attempts while in KC (1978-93).
DB James Hasty: Had 21 interceptions and three touchdowns while making two Pro Bowls in six seasons with the Chiefs (1995-2000).
QB Dave Krieg: Played two of his 19 seasons with the Chiefs. Krieg was 13-8 as a starter in 1992-93. He appeared in three playoff games with KC.
DE Leslie O’Neal: Played the final two of his 13 NFL seasons with the Chiefs (1998-99).
Here is the full list of modern-era nominees, via the Pro Football Hall of Fame (* indicates 2020 finalist):
Quarterbacks: Drew Bledsoe, Randall Cunningham, Jake Delhomme, Jeff Garcia, Peyton Manning, Donovan McNabb, Steve McNair.
Running backs: Shaun Alexander, Mike Alstott, Tiki Barber, Earnest Byner, Larry Centers, Corey Dillon, Warrick Dunn, Eddie George, Steven Jackson, Jamal Lewis, Eric Metcalf, Glyn Milburn, Lorenzo Neal, Fred Taylor, Herschel Walker, Ricky Watters.
Wide receivers: Donald Driver, Henry Ellard, *Torry Holt, Calvin Johnson, Chad Johnson, Derrick Mason, Muhsin Muhammad, Jimmy Smith, Rod Smith, Hines Ward, *Reggie Wayne, Wes Welker, Roddy White.
Tight ends: Dallas Clark, Ben Coates, Keith Jackson, Brent Jones, Heath Miller, Jeremy Shockey, Wesley Walls.
Offensive linemen: Willie Anderson, Matt Birk, *Tony Boselli, Lomas Brown, Ruben Brown, *Alan Faneca, D’Brickashaw Ferguson, Kevin Glover, Jordan Gross, Kent Hull, Olin Kreutz (C), Logan Mankins, Tom Nalen, Chris Samuels, Jeff Saturday, Chris Snee, Richmond Webb, Erik Williams, Steve Wisniewski.
Defensive linemen: John Abraham, Ray Childress, La’Roi Glover, Casey Hampton, Leslie O’Neal, Michael Dean Perry, Simeon Rice, *Richard Seymour, Justin Smith, Greg Townsend, Justin Tuck, Kevin Williams, *Bryant Young.
Linebackers: Cornelius Bennett, Lance Briggs, Tedy Bruschi, London Fletcher, Seth Joyner, Clay Matthews Jr., Jerod Mayo, Willie McGinest, *Sam Mills, Joey Porter, Chris Spielman, Takeo Spikes, Pat Swilling, Darryl Talley, *Zach Thomas, Patrick Willis
Defensive backs: Eric Allen, Ronde Barber, *LeRoy Butler, Nick Collins, Merton Hanks, Rodney Harrison, James Hasty, *John Lynch, Tim McDonald, Allen Rossum, Asante Samuel, Bob Sanders, Charles Tillman, Troy Vincent, Adrian Wilson, Charles Woodson, Darren Woodson.
Punters/kickers: David Akers, Gary Anderson, Jason Elam, Jeff Feagles, Jason Hanson, John Kasay, Sean Landeta, Ryan Longwell, Reggie Roby, Rohn Stark, Mat Turk.
Special teams: Josh Cribbs, Mel Gray, Brian Mitchell, Steve Tasker.
The list will be cut to 18 finalists, who will be presented to the 48-member Pro Football Hall of Fame Selection Committee.
This story was originally published September 18, 2020 at 11:37 AM.
