Peyton Manning, Charles Woodson Headline 2021 NFL Hall of Fame Class
Two-time Super Bowl champion Peyton Manning and eight-time All-Pro defensive back Charles Woodson highlight the inductees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame's class of 2021, the league announced Saturday. The modern-era players who were voted in also included Calvin Johnson and Alan Faneca.
Joining the modern-era players for induction are former Raiders coach Tom Flores and wide receiver Drew Pearson, who voted in as a senior finalist. Former Steelers assistant personnel director Bill Nunn was elected to the Hall of Fame as a special contributor.
Manning played for 17 seasons—13 with the Colts and four with the Broncos, winning one Super Bowl title with each team. He won the league's Most Valuable Player Award a record five times, and holds the single-season records for passing yards (5,477) and passing touchdowns (55), both set in 2013. He was selected to the All-Pro team 10 times—seven as a first-team choice and three times as a second-team selection.
Woodson spent 18 seasons in the NFL, making the Pro Bowl nine times and earning eight All-Pro selections (four first-team and four second-team). He was the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year in 2009, and won Super Bowl XLV while playing for the Packers. Woodson spent seven seasons with Green Bay and 11 with the Raiders.
Johnson defined the wide receiver position during his nine-year career, making the Pro Bowl every season from 2010 to 2015. He set the record for most receiving yards in a single season in 2012, hauling in 122 catches for 1,964 yards. Johnson ranks second all-time among qualified pass-catchers with 86.1 receiving yards per game.
Faneca anchored the Steelers offensive line for a decade, helping lead the team to a win in Super Bowl XL. He made nine consecutive Pro Bowls from 2001 to 2009, and was a six-time first-team All-Pro selection.
Lynch, currently the general manager for the 49ers, played 15 seasons in the NFL (11 for the Buccaneers and four for the Broncos). He made nine Pro Bowl appearances and anchored the back line of a star-studded Tampa Bay defense that won Super Bowl XXXVII over the Raiders.
Flores, who coached the Raiders for nine seasons from 1979 to 1987, won Super Bowl championships for the 1980 and 1983 seasons. Flores also played for the Raiders from 1960 to 1966, becoming the first Hispanic starting quarterback in NFL history. He is also the first minority head coach to win a Super Bowl, and is one of two people (along with Mike Ditka) to win a Super Bowl title as a player, assistant coach and head coach.
Pearson spent all 11 seasons of his career with the Cowboys, and was part of Dallas's win in Super Bowl XII. Pearson was a first-team All-Pro selection three times, and was named to the NFL's All-Decade Team for the 1970's.
Nunn was one of the architects of the Steelers dynasty of the 1970's, credited with acquiring key players like Joe Greene, Mel Blount, L.C. Greenwood and Dwight White. He worked in the Steelers' front office in the personnel department or as a scout from 1968 until his death in 2014. Before joining the Steelers, Nunn worked as an editor for the The Pittsburgh Courier, at the time one of the most influential Black publications in th country.