Willie Anderson named semifinalist for Pro Football Hall of Fame Class 2024

For the fourth consecutive year, Big Willie made it to the semifinals. Will this be the year?

The Pro Football Hall of Fame announced the 25 modern-era players that made it to the semifinals to be enshrined in Canton, Ohio, as a member of the class of 2024, and on that list, for the fourth year in a row, was former Cincinnati Bengals right tackle, Willie Anderson.

Anderson, who played for the Bengals from 1996 through the 2007 season, was a first-round pick out of Auburn in the 1996 NFL Draft. He took over the starting right tackle job in Week 7 of the ‘96 season, and the rest is history.

He finished his career as a three-time First-Team All-Pro (‘04, ‘05, ‘06), a Second-Team All-Pro (‘03), and a four-time Pro Bowler (‘03, ‘04, ‘05, ‘06). He was also named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team in 1996 and inducted into the Bengals Ring of Honor in 2022.

Anderson faced off against a Hall of Fame pass rusher in 15 different games throughout his career, and amazingly only allowed one sack.

While the Bengals didn’t have a ton of success during his tenure with the team, the running backs behind him did. He helped Rudi Johnson become a top-five rusher in franchise history, and he helped Corey Dillon average over 1,200 yards on the ground for six seasons. In all likelihood, if he had played for a different team throughout his career, he’d already be in the Hall of Fame.

Hopefully, 2024 is the year.