Will 2021 finally be the year that former Pittsburgh Steelers guard Alan Faneca is voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame? We have a while before we get the answer to that question but in the meantime, Adam Rank of NFL.com predicted in his most recent post that was released on Wednesday that Faneca will likely be a member of the Class of 2021.
Below are Rank’s reasons for thinking that 2021 will finally be Faneca’s year to get into Canton:
“Felt like it was a near certainty Faneca would get in last year. He’s been a finalist in each of his five years of eligibility. Props to the voters if they want to continue this as an annual tradition, just to leave him on the outside looking in. But he really should get in this time. He was a first-team All-Pro selection six times. He made the NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 2000s. He was a stud for the Steelers’ Super Bowl XL-winning team. So, yeah, it’s kind of wild that he didn’t get in with former teammate Troy Polamalu in 2020.”
I couldn’t be in more agreement with Rank and while I think the offensive lineman that did get voted in as a member of the 2020 Hall of Fame class, guard Steve Hutchinson, was very deserving, I feel like Faneca should have been put in instead of him.
As I have written numerous times over the course of the last few years, Faneca would’ve likely ended his NFL career as seven-time First Team All-Pro had he not unselfishly moved over to left for quite a few games during the 2003 season due to injuries on the offensive line.
Faneca being a finalist now for five consecutive years and not yet getting voted in is quite insane and while his resume looks very Canton worthy, he’s already competing for just three open spots in the Modern Era Class of 2021 because of quarterback Peyton Manning and cornerback Charles Woodson, who will be eligible for the first time in 2021, are already virtual locks.
The one bright side to Faneca ultimately getting in 2021 is that the 2020 induction ceremonies will also be taking place a year from now. In short, Steelers fans that attend the Hall of Fame induction ceremonies next summer might just get the chance to see Faneca get inducted along with former Steelers safeties Troy Polamalu and Donnie Shell in addition to former head coach Bill Cowher.
