CANTON, OHIO – The Pro Football Hall of Fame unveiled its list of 122 players of the Modern-Era, including eight in their first year of eligibility, who are nominees for the Class of 2020. The nominees include 63 offensive players, 43 defensive players and 16 special teams players. According to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the Modern-Era players list will be reduced to 25 semifinalists in November and to 15 finalists in early January 2020. The finalists will then be presented to the full 48-member Pro Football Hall of Fame Selection Committee during its annual meeting on "Selection Saturday," the day before Super Bowl LIV.
Here's a list of the 16 49ers who are nominated for the Class of 2020.
QB Jeff Garcia – The three time Pro Bowler began his NFL career with the 49ers and played for the team from 1999-2003. The quarterback started 71 games with the 49ers and threw for 16,408 yards, 113 touchdowns and rushed for 21 touchdowns.
RB Ricky Watters – Watters was a three-time Pro Bowler as a member of the 49ers. The running back rushed for 2,840 yards and 25 touchdowns in his three-year career in San Francisco and also hauled in 140 receptions for 1,450 yards and eight touchdowns. Watters was a member of the 49ers Super Bowl XXIX championship team.
WR Isaac Bruce – Bruce finished his 16-year NFL career with San Francisco. The receiver hauled in 82 passes for 1,099 yards and seven touchdowns in his two seasons with the 49ers.
OL Kevin Gogan – Gogan played in San Francisco for two Pro Bowl seasons and started all 32 games as a member of the 49ers.
TE Brent Jones – The three-time Super Bowl champ spent his entire 11-year career with the 49ers. The four-time Pro Bowler notched 417 receptions for 5,195 yards and 33 touchdowns.
TE Wesley Walls – The 49ers second-round pick in the 1989 draft spent 15 years in the NFL, five in San Francisco. Walls was a part of the 49ers Super Bowl XXIV team and was named to five Pro Bowls and was a three-time All-Pro.
DE Justin Smith – Smith was selected to five consecutive Pro Bowls from 2009 to 2013 and was named to the All-Pro team as a defensive end and as a defensive tackle in 2011 and 2012. Smith also appeared in Super Bowl XLVII.
DT Bryant Young – The 49ers first round (seventh overall) pick in the 1994 NFL draft earned four trips to the Pro Bowl and was named as an All-Pro in 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2001 and was a part of San Francisco's Super Bowl XXIX championship team.
LB Takeo Spikes – Spikes spent 2008-2010 with the 49ers and went on to become one of only seven linebackers to achieve more than 200 career starts in the NFL.
LB Patrick Willis – The 49ers former first-round pick in the 2007 draft played his entire eight-year career with San Francisco. Willis earned seven trips to the Pro Bowl, was a six time All-Pro, named the 2007 AP Defensive Rookie fo the Year and was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team in 2007.
S John Lynch – San Francisco's general manager constructed one of the all-time great NFL careers while with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1993-2003) and the Denver Broncos (2004-07). A four-time All-Pro and nine-time Pro Bowl selection, he played in 224 games (191 starts) and registered 1,054 tackles, 13.0 sacks, 26 interceptions, 16 forced fumbles, eight fumble recoveries and 100 passes defended.
S Merton Hanks – Hanks spent nine seasons in the NFL during the 1990s, eight with the San Francisco 49ers. Hanks was selected to four Pro Bowls and four All-Pro teams. He was a member of San Francisco's Super Bowl XXIX team.
S Tim McDonald – The former strong safety played thirteen seasons in the NFL and seven seasons with the 49ers. In 1998, McDonald tallied 78 total tackles, four sacks, four interceptions, 15 passes defended and two fumble recoveries en route to the 49ers Super Bowl win over the San Diego Chargers. McDonald was voted to the Pro Bowl six times in his career, three times with the 49ers.
K David Akers – The former NFL placekicker was selected to the Pro Bowl six times. Akers previously held the record for the longest field goal in NFL history when he kicked a 63-yard field goal against the Green Bay Packers in 2012.
K Gary Anderson – Anderson played in the league for 23 seasons with five teams, including the 49ers in 1997. He was a four-time Pro Bowl and two-time All-Pro kicker.
P Reggie Roby – The three time Pro Bowl and three time All-Pro punter played in the NFL for sixteen seasons and finished his career in 1998 with the 49ers.
Here's the full list of the modern-era nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2020:
Quarterbacks
(7) – Randall Cunningham, Jake Delhomme, Boomer Esiason, Jeff Garcia, Jeff Hostetler, Dave Krieg, Donovan McNabb
Running Backs
(19) – Shaun Alexander, Mike Alstott (FB), Tiki Barber, Earnest Byner, Larry Centers, Corey Dillon, Eddie George, Priest Holmes, *Edgerrin James, Daryl Johnston (FB), Thomas Jones, Maurice Jones-Drew, Eric Metcalf (also WR/KR/PR), Lorenzo Neal (FB), Clinton Portis, Fred Taylor, Herschel Walker (also KR), Chris Warren, Ricky Watters
Wide Receivers
(12) – *Isaac Bruce, Gary Clark, Donald Driver, Henry Ellard (also PR), Torry Holt, Chad Johnson, Derrick Mason, Muhsin Muhammad, Jimmy Smith, Rod Smith, Hines Ward, Reggie Wayne
Tight Ends
(6) – Dallas Clark, Ben Coates, Keith Jackson, Brent Jones, Jeremy Shockey, Wesley Walls
Offensive Linemen
(19) – Willie Anderson (T), Matt Birk (C), *Tony Boselli (T), Lomas Brown (T), Ray Donaldson (C), *Alan Faneca (G), Kevin Gogan (G/T), Jordan Gross (T), Chris Hinton (G/T), Kent Hull (C), *Steve Hutchinson (G), Lincoln Kennedy (T/G), Olin Kreutz (C), Chris Samuels (T), Jeff Saturday (C), Brian Waters (G), Richmond Webb (T), Erik Williams (T), Steve Wisniewski (G)
Defensive Linemen
(11) – John Abraham (DE also LB), La'Roi Glover (DT/NT), Casey Hampton (DT/NT), Chester McGlockton (DT), Leslie O'Neal (DE), Simeon Rice (DE), *Richard Seymour (DT), Justin Smith (DE), Neil Smith (DE), Greg Townsend (DT/NT), Bryant Young (DT)
Linebackers
(17) – Carl Banks, Cornelius Bennett, Lance Briggs, Tedy Bruschi, James Farrior, London Fletcher, Seth Joyner, Wilber Marshall, Clay Matthews, Willie McGinest (also DE), Sam Mills, Chris Spielman, Takeo Spikes, Darryl Talley, Zach Thomas, Jessie Tuggle, Patrick Willis
Defensive Backs
(15) – Eric Allen (CB), *Steve Atwater (S), Ronde Barber (CB/S), LeRoy Butler (S), Nick Collins (S), Merton Hanks (S), Rodney Harrison (S), Albert Lewis (CB), *John Lynch (S), Terry McDaniel (CB), Tim McDonald (S), Troy Polamalu (SS), Bob Sanders (S),
Troy Vincent (CB), Darren Woodson (S)
Punters/Kickers
(11) – David Akers (K), Gary Anderson (K), Jason Elam (K), Jeff Feagles (P), Jason Hanson (K), Sean Landeta (P), Ryan Longwell (K), Nick Lowery (K), Reggie Roby (P), Rohn Stark (P), Matt Turk (P)
Special Teams
(5) – Johnny Bailey (PR/KR also RB), Josh Cribbs (KR/PR also WR), Mel Gray (PR/KR also WR), Brian Mitchell (KR/PR also RB), Steve Tasker (ST also WR)
*Denotes finalist in 2019
