Tonight's The Night! Butler, Boselli, Seymour Top Class of 2022 Favorites

Safety LeRoy Butler, tackle Tony Boselli and defensive tackle Richard Seymour are among the favorites for the Pro Football Hall-of-Fame’s modern-era Class of 2022, scheduled to be revealed Thursday night during the NFL Honors Show ( 9 p.m. Eastern).

All three not only were finalists last year; they made the cut from 15 to 10. 

So what? So it put them in the on-deck circle for the following class and made them frontrunners this year … only don’t tell Boselli. He’s been a top-10 finalist the past five years.

However, the former Jacksonville star had to survive a rush of first-ballot choices (there have been 10 the past four years, or half the modern-era classes) and a minefield of offensive linemen that included Alan Faneca, Kevin Mawae and Steve Hutchinson.

But those obstacles have been removed. Boselli is one of only two offensive linemen among this year's finalists (tackle Willie Anderson is the other), and the only first-ballot favorite is linebacker DeMarcus Ware.

One of three first-ballot candidates (wide receiver Andre Johnson and return specialist Devin Hester are the others), Ware ranks ninth in NFL history with career 138-1/2 career sacks ... or one behind Hall-of-Famer Jason Taylor.

And he was a first-ballot choice in 2017.

Another favorite is linebacker Zach Thomas, who, like Butler, Boselli and Seymour, was a top-10 finalist last year. In fact, he’s been one the past two years. However, some voters seemed conflicted about his candidacy prior to the Jan. 17 vote, when the Hall’s board of selectors met virtually to choose this year’s class.

It was the second consecutive year there was no in-person vote because of COVID concerns.

Perhaps the most intriguing of the 15 finalists eligible for the Class of 2022 is Hester. First, no return specialist has ever been a finalist. Second, there are only three specialists … period … in Canton: Kickers Jan Stenerud and Morten Andersen and punter Ray Guy.

Hester was one of two return specialists named to the NFL’s 100^th anniversary team.

Also on this year’s ballot are candidates from the coaching (Dick Vermeil), contributor (Art McNally) and senior (Cliff Branch) categories. All are expected to be elected.

So what does the Class of 2022 ballot look like? There are 15 modern-era finalists and three from separate categories. Modern-era is defined as 20 years of eligibility after five years of retirement. If a modern-era candidate is not enshrined within that time, he moves to the senior category.

Of the 15 candidates, a maximum of five are chosen, with two cuts involved. The first is from 15 to 10. The second is from 10 to 5. Then the board’s 49 selectors vote "yes" or "no" on each of the five candidates, with 80 percent approval required to reach the Hall.

Here are this year’s finalists:

MODERN-ERA (15)

· * DE JARED ALLEN

OT WILLIE ANDERSON

· * CB RONDE BARBER

· * 0T TONY BOSELLI

· * S LEROY BUTLER

KR/WR DEVIN HESTER

· * WR TORRY HOLT

WR ANDRE JOHNSON

· *LB SAM MILLS

· *DT RICHARD SEYMOUR

· * LB ZACH THOMAS

 LB DEMARCUS WARE

* WR REGGIE WAYNE

LB PATRICK WILLIS

DT BRYANT YOUNG

· (* Denotes returning finalist)

SEPARATE CATEGORIES (3)

Coaching (DICK VERMEIL)

Contributor (ART MCNALLY)

Senior (CLIFF BRANCH)