The Pro Football Hall of Fame has announced 129 modern-era nominees for its 2023 class. A total of 10 of those nominees are former members of the Kansas City Chiefs, including one player who is in his first year of Hall of Fame eligibility.
Now that players have been nominated, the next step in the process is to whittle down from 129 players to 25 semifinalists in November. The selection committee will then convene again and carve the list down to 15 modern-era finalists in January.
A total of nineteen finalists, which includes senior, contributor and coaching finalists, will be presented to the full Pro Football Hall of Fame Selection Committee during its annual meeting ahead of Super Bowl LVII. That group will be reduced five modern-era players selected for enshrinement. Senior, contributor, and coaching finalists will be voted on and require at least and 80% vote to be enshrined in the 2023 class.
Here’s a look at the latest crop of former Chiefs players who have been nominated for enshrinement into the Pro Football Hall of Fame:
QB Dave Krieg
Krieg joined the Chiefs after spending 11 seasons with the Seattle Seahawks. The veteran signal-caller was the starting QB for the Chiefs for just two seasons, but he led the team to a 10-6 record in 1992. He was nominated for 2020, 2021 and 2022 Hall of Fame classes, but has yet to advance past the initial nomination.
RB Priest Holmes
Holmes played with Kansas City for seven seasons after signing with the team as a free agent in 2001. He had one of the most dominant three-year stretches in the history of the game, earning three Pro Bowl selections and three First-Team All-Pro selections from 2001-2003. He accumulated an NFL rushing title and two rushing touchdown titles during that span. Holmes was also nominated for the HOF in 2020, 2021 and 2022, but he’s yet to make it to the semi-finalist or finalist rounds.
WR Joe Horn
A former fifth-round draft pick by Kansas City, Horn spent four seasons with the Chiefs from 1996 through 1999, but he mainly played a role on special teams. He recorded just 53 catches for 879 yards and seven touchdowns on offense in that span. He’d go on to play for the Saints for six seasons after his tenure in Kansas City, earning four Pro Bowl selections, including three consecutive selections from 2000-2002.
WR Andre Rison
Rison joined the Chiefs in 1997 and was a top target for Elvis Grbac and Rich Gannon, catching 72 passes for 1,092 yards and seven touchdowns that season. He helped the Chiefs to a 13-3 record and an AFC West division title that year. Kansas City was unable to get over the hump in the playoffs, despite a dominant showing in the divisional round from Rison. Over the following two seasons, Rison totaled just 61 catches for 760 yards and five touchdowns with the Chiefs. Rison was selected for the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in 2017.
OG Brian Waters
When he joined the Chiefs during the 2000 season, Waters was moved to offensive guard from defensive tackle. He flourished in the position swap, playing 163 games for the team on the interior offensive line. He earned five Pro Bowl selections during his 11 seasons with Kansas City. In 2009, Waters became the Chiefs’ fifth member of the franchise to win the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award. Waters was just selected to the Chiefs Ring of Honor back in 2020. This is his fourth time nominated for enshrinement.
DE Jared Allen
A fourth-round draft pick by the Chiefs in 2004 out of Idaho State, Allen spent four seasons in Kansas City from 2004-2007. In 2007, Allen led the NFL in sacks with 15.5 and earned first-team All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors. In 2008, Allen was traded to the Vikings for a haul of draft picks, including the one that was used to draft running back Jamaal Charles. Allen was a finalist for enshrinement in both 2021 and 2022.
DE Neil Smith
The Chiefs traded up to draft Smith with the No. 2 overall pick out of Nebraska in 1988. By the 1989 season, he had become one of the top pass-rushers in the league. He earned Pro Bowl honors in five consecutive seasons from 1991 through 1995 and ranks third all-time in Chiefs history with 86.5 sacks, behind only Derrick Thomas and Tamba Hali. He left the Chiefs as a free agent in 1996 and joined the rival Denver Broncos, winning Super Bowls in the 1997 and 1998 seasons. He was also nominated for the HOF in each of the last three seasons, but has never made it to the finalist round.
DE Leslie O'Neil
O’Neal played with the Chiefs in his final two seasons in the NFL from 1998-1999. He recorded 10 sacks during that span. O’Neal was first nominated for the 2020 centennial class and has been a nominee in each of the last three seasons.
CB Albert Lewis
A former third-round pick in the 1983 NFL draft out of Grambling State, Lewis would register 38 interceptions with Kansas City. It’s a number that’s still good for fifth all-time in franchise history. He was selected to four consecutive Pro Bowls from 1987 through 1990 and holds the franchise record with 10 blocked punts in his career. Lewis was also among the players nominated for enshrinement in the centennial class in 2020 and has been nominated in each of the two years since.
CB Darrelle Revis
Revis spent the final season of his career with the Chiefs, appearing in five regular season games and starting in two. He had two passes defended and 11 total tackles, but he’ll most be remembered for deflecting a pass-turned touchdown run into Marcus Mariota’s hands in the 2017 playoffs. This is Revis’ first year for eligibility for the Hall of Fame.
