Pro Football Hall of Fame 2017: Full List of Nominees and Reaction

The full list of modern-era nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s 2017 class was announced Wednesday. 

The entire group of 94 players and coaches can be found at NFL.com. Offensive players are well represented among the 2017 nominees. There are 45 offensive players to 32 defenders, and 37 of them are running backs, wide receivers or offensive linemen.

Here is a look at some of the notable names from the group:

Player	Position
Donovan McNabb	Quarterback
Randall Cunningham	Quarterback
Shaun Alexander	Running Back
Eddie George	Running Back
Terrell Davis	Running Back
LaDainian Tomlinson	Running Back
Terrell Owens	Wide Receiver
Tony Boselli	Offensive Tackle
Jason Taylor	Defensive End
Tedy Bruschi	Linebacker
Brian Dawkins	Defensive Back
Rodney Harrison	Defensive Back
Brian Mitchell	Punt/Kick Returner and Running Back
Bill Cowher	Coach

Former Philadelphia Eagles Donovan McNabb and Brian Dawkins were included among the nominees and reacted to the news:

According to NFL.com, the full list of nominees will be narrowed to 25 semifinalists in November and 15 finalists in January. Those 15 finalists, along with senior finalist Kenny Easley and contributor finalists Jerry Jones and Paul Tagliabue, will be voted on by the Pro Football Hall of Fame selection committee. The committee eventually pares down the 15 modern-era finalists to five and then votes yes or no.

NFL.com noted those finalists, as well as Easley, Jones and Tagliabue, must receive at least 80 percent positive votes. “While there is no set number for any class of enshrines, the selection process bylaws provide that between four and eight new members will be selected,” NFL.com wrote.

The 2016 class included a number of household names such as Brett Favre, Marvin Harrison, Orlando Pace and Tony Dungy. The nominees for next year's class also feature some notable playmakers, including running back Eddie George, wide receiver Terrell Owens and special teams contributor Brian Mitchell.

George made four Pro Bowls and reached a Super Bowl with the Tennessee Titans. He finished his career with seven seasons of more than 1,000 rushing yards and 78 total touchdowns.

Owens made six Pro Bowls and was a five-time first-team All-Pro. According to Pro Football Reference, he is second on the all-time receiving yards list behind only Jerry Rice with 15,934. He is also third on the receiving touchdowns list behind Rice and Randy Moss with 153.

As for Mitchell, he won a Super Bowl with Washington and is first in career kick-return yards with 14,014 (far ahead of second-place Allen Rossum's 11,947).

The 2017 class will be enshrined in the Hall of Fame on Aug. 5, 2017. ESPN and NFL Network will broadcast the ceremony.