JARED ALLEN

He opened the 2007 Super Bowl for Chicago with a 92-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, the only time in Super Bowl history that has occurred. He finished with 138 1/2 sacks and made the NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 2000s. Johnson, the other first-year eligible in the final 15, twice made the All-Pro team during a strong time for wide receivers. Holt was selected to NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 2000s and won a Super Bowl with the 1999 Rams. A key to the Cover-2 defensive scheme, Barber was a three-time All-Pro and a member of NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 2000s.

DeMarcus Ware, Andre Johnson and Devin Hester are finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s class of 2022 all in their first year of eligibility.

Nominated: Former Carolina Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith is one of 10 first-timers on the Pro Football Hall of Fame ballot. (Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)CANTON, Ohio — The first-year nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2022 contain some electric performers on offense and defense. The Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2022 nominees was just unveiled, and it features some notable first-time potential HOFers: Steve Smith, Anquan Boldin, Andre Johnson and Devin Hester. RT if you believe that Devin Hester belongs in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2021 will be inducted in Canton in August 2022.

CANTON, Ohio — (AP) — Ten first-year eligible players, including defensive standouts DeMarcus Ware and Robert Mathis, and receivers Andre Johnson, Steve Smith and Anquan Boldin are among 122 nominees for the 2022 class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Other first-year eligibles are kick returner Devin Hester; offensive linemen Jake Long and Nick Mangold; defensive lineman Vince Wilfork and defensive back Antonio Cromartie. The roster of nominees consists of 65 offensive players, 46 defensive players and 11 special teamers. Finalists from 2021 re-nominated for next year are wide receivers Reggie Wayne and Torry Holt; tackle Tony Boselli; defensive end Jared Allen; defensive tackle Richard Seymour; linebackers Sam Mills and Zach Thomas; and defensive backs Ronde Barber and LeRoy Butler. The coach finalist is Dick Vermeil, who won the Super Bowl in 2000 with the Rams.

More than two decades ago Charles Woodson beat out Peyton Manning for a prestigious college award. On Saturday, Feb. 6, 2021, they likely will share an even more impressive football honor: entry into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey, File)More than two decades ago, Charles Woodson beat out Peyton Manning for a prestigious college award. On Saturday, they likely will share an even more impressive football honor: entry into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. When everybody is seeing it through the same eyes, it is a great way to play a football game.

(AP Photo/Julie Jacobson, File)Peyton Manning, no surprise, is among 15 finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame's class of 2021. The star quarterback, owner of a record five NFL Most Valuable Player awards and two Super Bowl titles, was the first finalist revealed by the hall on Tuesday night. In 18 pro seasons and 265 starts out of 266 games played since being the top overall draft choice by Indianapolis in 1998, he had 14 seasons with 4,000-plus yards passing. Joining Manning as a finalist was one of the players he threw to, wide receiver Reggie Wayne, a finalist for the second time. Voting on the entrants to the hall will be conducted later this month, with the inductees announced during Super Bowl week.

FILE - In this Dec. 29, 2013, file photo, Oakland Raiders cornerback Charles Woodson (24) talks with Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning (18) after an NFL football game in Oakland, Calif. Peyton Manning and Charles Woodson are among 14 first-year eligible candidates for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)

Peyton Manning and Charles Woodson are among 14 first-year eligible candidates for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The roster of nominees consists of 65 offensive players, 49 defensive players and 16 special teams players. A maximum of five modern-era players will be chosen when the selection committee meets the Saturday before the Super Bowl in Tampa, Florida. Eighteen finalists will be presented to the full 48-member panel: the 15 modern-era finalists, and the recently nominated Drew Pearson (senior); Bill Nunn (contributor); and Tom Flores (coach). Enshrinement at the hall in Canton, Ohio, will take place next August, when members of the 2020 class and a special centennial class also will enter the football shrine.