In their first year of eligibility, Vikings Legends Randy Moss and Steve Hutchinson are **two of 27 semifinalists** for the Pro Football Hall of Fame's 2018 class.
Mark Craig of the *Star Tribune *explained what comes next in the process. He wrote:
The next step comes in January when the selection committee trims this list to the 15 modern-era finalists. Those 15 people will join contributor finalist Bobby Beathard and senior finalists Robert Brazile and Jerry Kramer.
Beathard, Brazile and Kramer will be voted on separately. Like all finalists, they must receive 80 percent of the votes when the selection committee meets on Feb. 3 in Minneapolis.
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Per the Hall's bylaws, between four and eight new Hall of Famers will be selected each year. No more than five modern-era finalists can be chosen.
Former Vikings Pro Bowl center Matt Birk, also in his first year of eligibility, was not one of the announced semifinalists.
Among the pool are former Gophers linebacker Karl Mecklenburg, who has been a semifinalist for seven straight years, and running back Roger Craig, who spent his final two seasons in Minnesota. Craig is a semifinalist for the 10th consecutive year.
Other first-year eligible candidates are Ronde Barber, Ray Lewis, Brian Urlacher and Richard Seymour. Players previously eligible who became first-time semifinalists are LeRoy Butler, Leslie O'Neal, Simeon Rice and Everson Walls.
If either Moss or Hutchinson – or both – are inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this year, they would join 13 others who spent all or most of their careers with the Vikings.
Adam Thielen moves up in NFL.com's offensive power rankings
It's becoming harder and harder for national media members to avoid giving attention to Adam Thielen.
Each week, former NFL quarterback-turned-analyst David Carr posts his **offensive player power rankings**, and Thielen was not included in the rankings for the first 10 weeks.
Things have changed, however.
Carr placed Thielen at No. 12 on his list. He wrote:
*Minnesota's underrated WR2 continued his career year in Sunday's win over the Rams with six catches for 123 receiving yards and this 65-yard TD. With great hands and chemistry with Case Keenum, Thielen jumped to second-best in receiving yards (916) in the NFL.
Thielen's becoming one of my favorite players in the NFL. I record videos of Thielen and show them to my sons' high school football team because he runs perfect routes and doesn't waste movement. He's so fun to watch. *
Thielen was the third receiver on Carr's lineup, behind Pittsburgh's Antonio Brown (No. 2) and Houston's DeAndre Hopkins (No. 8).
Former Viking Jack Brewer aids in outreach support
Since his days on the field, former Vikings safety Jack Brewer has **continued to make an impact** off the field.
Most recently, Brewer joined with an Iowa-based nonprofit, The Outreach Program, and Food for the Poor to provide meals to families in need in Puerto Rico and Haiti.
Through the Jack Brewer Foundation, he generously donated a portion of 130,000 rice and bean meals that were delivered to a Food for the Poor warehouse earlier this month. The meals were then shipped to Puerto Rico to support hurricane-relief efforts.
Brewer then joined 600 volunteers at St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Palm Beach Gardens to pack 125,000 meals that were sent to Haiti.
Brewer, who now lives in Florida, defined the food-packing event as "amazing."
"There was so much synergy in the room with everyone working toward the same mission," Brewer said. "It wasn't easy. But I always love challenges. It makes people value what they're doing even more."
Floyd Hammer, president of The Outreach Program, had previously worked with Brewer in Malawi and said the former NFL player contacted him about packing meals for Puerto Rico.
"These meals are very important because of the devastation that's there in Puerto Rico," Hammer said. "We feel very fortunate to be able to help."
