First-Time Nominee Justin Tuck Leads Giants Group for 2021 Hall of Fame Consideration
Six players who spent all or a significant portion of their careers with the Giants are among the 130 modern-era nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2021.
The list includes defensive end Justin Tuck, who was cited in his first year of eligibility, plus running back Tiki Barber, guard Chris Snee, tight end Jeremy Shockey and punters Sean Landeta and Jeff Feagles.
Also, running back Herschel Walker (1995), tackle Lomas Brown (2000-01), and running back/return specialist Brian Mitchell (2003), all of whom made stops with the Giants later in their career, were part of the list.
Tuck, a third-round pick out of Notre Dame in 2005, played nine seasons in New York before spending the final two seasons of his career with the Oakland Raiders in 2014-15.
Tuck racked up 60.5 sacks and 508 for the Giants in 127 regular-season games played with 90 starts. Tuck made two Pro Bowl and was named a second-team All-Pro in 2010.
Tuck was a key leader in the Giants' vaunted defensive front of the 2000s to early 2010s, playing alongside defensive ends Michael Strahan, Osi Umenyiora, Mathias Kiwanuka Jason Pierre-Paul. He served as a defensive captain from 2010-13.
Snee, a second-round pick out of Boston College in 2004, spent his entire career with the Giants up until his retirement in 2013. Snee started 141 regular-season games for the Giants at right guard. Snee was a four-time Pro Bowler and was named a First-Team All-Pro selection in 2008. He was also a team captain.
Barber, a second-round pick out of Virginia in 1997, spent his entire career with the Giants until his retirement in 2006. Barber racked up 10,449 rushing yards, 5,831 receiving yards, and 67 total touchdowns in 154 regular-season games for the Giants.
Barber's Hall-of-Fame resume is highlighted by a late-career surge, a rarity for running backs. Barber did not record a 1,000-yard season in his first three seasons in the NFL, but only got better with age.
He put together seven straight seasons of over 1,000 yards from scrimmage starting in 2000, including three consecutive seasons of over 2,000 yards from 2004-06 en route to three Pro Bowl appearances and a First-Team All-Pro recognition in 2005.
Barber retired at the age of 31 despite coming off his three most productive seasons and has been eligible for Hall-of-Fame induction since 2011.
Shockey, a first-round draft pick out of Miami in 2002, played his first six NFL seasons with the Giants.
Shockey caught 371 passes for 4,228 yards and 27 touchdowns in 83 regular-season games for the Giants.
Shockey rapidly ascended to the top ranks of NFL tight ends, as he was named a First-Team All-Pro as a rookie in 2002 to go along with his Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year and first Pro Bowl recognition.
The list of modern-era nominees will be reduced to 25 semifinalists in November and 15 finalists in January. Eighteen finalists will be presented to the full 48-member Pro Football Hall of Fame Selection Committee during its annual meeting on “Selection Saturday,” the day before Super Bowl LV.
The finalists will consist of 15 players from the list of 130, plus the recently named Senior Finalist, wide receiver Drew Pearson; Contributor Finalist, scout Bill Nunn; and Coach Finalist, Tom Flores.
Walker began his career in the USFL with the New Jersey General, came into the NFL after the league folded in 2005 as a fifth-round draft pick by the Dallas Cowboys.
Walker is most remembered for the infamous trade that sent him to the Minnesota Vikings in exchange for the draft picks that kickstarted the Cowboys' dynasty of the 1990s.
Walker spent one season with the Giants in 1995 as a rotational running back. He racked up 360 yards from scrimmage and one touchdown for the Giants, a small portion of his 13,084 yards and 82 touchdowns.
Feagles, an undrafted free agent out of Miami in 1998, spent his final seven seasons with the Giants from 2003-09 and was the team's starting punter for their Super Bowl XLII championship team in 2007. Feagles made his second Pro Bowl and first as a Giant in 2008.
Feagles holds the NFL record for most punts with 1,713 and most punting yards with 71,211.
Landeta, an undrafted free agent out of Towsend in 1983, also began his career in the USFL with the Philadelphia Stars/Baltimore Stars from 1983-85.
Landeta had two stints with the Giants. The first was from 1985-93 as the Giants' starting punter for their Super Bowl XXI and XXV championship teams. Landeta returned to the Giants in 2006.
Landeta was a two-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro selection.
Mitchell, a fifth-round draft pick out of Southwester Louisiana in 1990 by Washington, spent one season with the Giants in 2003. He was a one-time Pro Bowler, a First-Team All-Pro selection in 1995, and a two-time Second-Team All-Pro selection in 1991 & 1994.
Brown, a first-round draft pick out of Florida in 1985 by the Detroit Lions, spent two seasons with the Giants in 2000-01. He then won Super Bowl XXXVII with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2002.
Brown was a seven-time Pro Bowler, three-time First-team All-Pro, and three-time Second-Team All-Pro.
