Brett Favre highlights 15 finalists for Pro Football Hall of Fame

Brett Favre has about four weeks before it's official, and he officially becomes a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Favre took another step in the inevitable process on Thursday, when the NFL's first three-time MVP was announced as a finalist for the class of 2016, along with 14 other players. The Hall of Fame voters will decide on this year's class Feb. 6, the day before Super Bowl 50. Favre, who is in his first year of eligibility, is widely considered a first-ballot lock.

 

Here are all 15 modern-era finalists. Only five modern-era finalists will be voted in:

 

QB Brett Favre

QB Kurt Warner

RB Terrell Davis

RB Edgerrin James

WR Marvin Harrison

WR Terrell Owens

OT Orlando Pace

OT Joe Jacoby

OG Alan Faneca

LB Kevin Greene

S John Lynch

S Steve Atwater

K Morten Andersen

Coach Tony Dungy

Coach Don Coryell

 

Given the limitations the Hall of Fame places on the voters, letting them include only five modern-era finalists in each class, it makes the vote pretty tough.

If Favre isn't a first-ballot Hall of Famer, the process should be re-evaluated. Favre's 71,838 passing yards and 508 touchdowns were NFL records when he retired, and now those marks are both second behind Peyton Manning. Favre revitalized football in Green Bay, and was the key figure in the Packers' Super Bowl XXXI championship.

While Favre should be the easiest selection, Owens' candidacy should be an intriguing debate. Owens, who is eligible for the first time, is sixth in NFL history with 1,078 catches, second with 15,934 receiving yards and third with 153 receiving touchdowns. Those are clearly Hall of Fame numbers, but will Owens' personality be held against him? Owens wore out his welcome in numerous stops and was a controversial figure in his career. That shouldn't keep him out, but the vote could be interesting. Receivers, for some reason, are often made to wait by the voters.

Warner is a good case as well. Warner had just six full seasons as a starter. But many of those seasons were phenomenal, including NFL MVPs in 1999 and 2001 and three NFC championships, two with the St. Louis Rams and one with the Arizona Cardinals. He was XXXIV Super Bowl MVP in the Rams championship victory.

Davis has been a finalist before, and he also had a career that was spectacular, just cut short due to injuries. Davis was an NFL MVP and also a Super Bowl MVP, and was the most productive player on back-to-back Denver Broncos Super Bowl championship teams in 1997 and 1998.