Legendary 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis is a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame for the third time in as many years.
Willis was also a semifinalist for the fifth consecutive year, so it appears he’s trending toward finally being enshrined with a bust in Canton.
A short career has likely been the main culprit for Willis not getting into the Hall of Fame just yet. He played for just eight seasons, but he packed a hall-of-fame resumé into those years. Willis was the 2007 Defensive Rookie of the Year, a five-time First-Team All-Pro, a one-time Second-Team All-Pro, a seven-time Pro Bowler, a two-time top-10 finisher for Defensive Player of the Year, and a member of the Hall of Fame’s All-Decade team for the 2010s.
Along with that, Willis changed the way the linebacker position was played with his ability to not only get downhill and deliver big hits as a run stopper, but his athleticism helped redefine how to maximize linebacker play in an NFL that was increasingly pass-happy.
Willis is a finalist alongside CB Eric Allen, DE Jared Allen, OT Willie Anderson, G Jahri Evans, DE Dwight Freeney, TE Antonio Gates, S Rodney Harrison, WR/KR Devin Hester, WR Torry Holt, WR Andre Johnson, DE Julius Peppers, RB Fred Taylor, WR Reggie Wayne and S Darren Woodson.
Now the selection committee will choose as many as five of these finalists to make up the 2024 Hall of Fame class. That group will be announced Feb. 8 during the NFL Honors ceremony.
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