Cornerbacks Ronde Barber and Darrelle Revis, outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware and linebacker Zach Thomas were all selected for enshrinement, as was tackle Joe Thomas.

It marks the first time since the league's AFL-NFL merger in 1970 that four of the maximum five slots in a modern-era class have been defensive players. 

Joe Thomas and Revis were in their first year of eligibility, each last playing in 2017.