Former NFL defensive lineman Bryant Young this year will become the 29th inductee into the Edward J. DeBartolo Sr. San Francisco 49ers Hall of Fame. His name was among several former 49ers players listed among the 130 nominees listed for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2021.
Linebacker Patrick Willis was among the 25 players listed as modern-era semifinalists in November of 2019 but, shockingly to some, did not make the trimmed-down list of 15 in January.
Below are the former 49ers players among the most-recent nominees, according to NBC Sports Bay Area.
- Kicker Gary Anderson
- Quarterback Jeff Garcia
- Defensive back Merton Hanks
- Tight end Brent Jones
- Defensive back Tim McDonald
- Punter Reggie Roby
- Defensive lineman Justin Smith
- Linebacker Takeo Spikes
- Running back Ricky Watters
- Linebacker Patrick Willis
- Defensive linemen Bryant Young
Also on the list is 49ers general manager John Lynch, a former hard-hitting safety known for his time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Denver Broncos, and Niners wide receivers coach Wes Welker, who played for the several teams, including the Broncos and New England Patriots. Lynch has been a finalist during each of the last seven years.
The list will be reduced to 25 nominees in November, and then 15 in January.
Below is the complete list of the modern-era finalists.
Quarterbacks (8): Drew Bledsoe, Randall Cunningham, Jake Delhomme, Jeff Garcia, Dave Krieg, Peyton Manning, Donovan McNabb, Steve McNair
Running backs (17): Shaun Alexander, Mike Alstott (FB), Tiki Barber, Earnest Byner, Larry Centers, Corey Dillon, Warrick Dunn, Eddie George, Priest Holmes, Steven Jackson, Jamal Lewis, Eric Metcalf (also WR/KR/PR), Glyn Milburn (also WR/KR/PR), Lorenzo Neal (FB), Fred Taylor, Herschel Walker (also KR), Ricky Watters
Wide receivers (13): Donald Driver, Henry Ellard (also PR), Torry Holt, Calvin Johnson, Chad Johnson, Derrick Mason, Muhsin Muhammad, Jimmy Smith, Rod Smith, Hines Ward, Reggie Wayne, Wes Welker, Roddy White
Tight ends (7): Dallas Clark, Ben Coates, Keith Jackson, Brent Jones, Heath Miller, Jeremy Shockey, Wesley Walls
Offensive linemen (20): Willie Anderson (T), Matt Birk (C), Tony Boselli (T), Lomas Brown (T), Ruben Brown (G), Alan Faneca (G), D'Brickashaw Ferguson (T), Kevin Glover (C/G), Jordan Gross (T), Kent Hull (C), Olin Kreutz (C), Logan Mankins (G), Tom Nalen (C), Chris Samuels (T), Jeff Saturday (C), Chris Snee (G), Brian Waters (G), Richmond Webb (T), Erik Williams (T), Steve Wisniewski (G)
Defensive linemen (15): John Abraham (DE also LB), Jared Allen (DE), Ray Childress (DT/DE), La'Roi Glover (DT/NT), Casey Hampton (DT/NT), Leslie O'Neal (DE), Michael Dean Perry (DT/DE), Simeon Rice (DE), Richard Seymour (DT), Justin Smith (DE), Neil Smith (DE), Greg Townsend (DE/LB/DT/NT), Justin Tuck (DE), Kevin Williams (DT), Bryant Young (DT)
Linebackers (16): Cornelius Bennett, Lance Briggs, Tedy Bruschi, London Fletcher, Seth Joyner, Clay Matthews Jr., Jerod Mayo, Willie McGinest (also DE), Sam Mills, Joey Porter, Chris Spielman, Takeo Spikes, Pat Swilling (also DE), Darryl Talley, Zach Thomas, Patrick Willis
Defensive backs (18): Eric Allen (CB), Ronde Barber (CB/S), LeRoy Butler (S), Nick Collins (S), Merton Hanks (S), Rodney Harrison (S), James Hasty (DB), Albert Lewis (CB), John Lynch (S), Tim McDonald (S), Allen Rossum (DB), Asante Samuel (DB), Bob Sanders (S), Charles Tillman (CB), Troy Vincent (CB), Adrian Wilson (S), Charles Woodson (CB/S), Darren Woodson (S)
Specialists (16): David Akers (K), Gary Anderson (K), Josh Cribbs (KR/PR also WR), Mel Gray (PR/KR also WR), Jason Elam (K), Jeff Feagles (P), Jason Hanson (K), John Kasay (K), Sean Landeta (P), Ryan Longwell (K), Nick Lowery (K), Brian Mitchell (KR/PR also RB), Reggie Roby (P), Rohn Stark (P), Steve Tasker (ST also WR), Matt Turk (P)