For the third straight year, Bengals Ring of Honor member Willie Anderson has reached the finals of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Modern Era balloting for the 2024 class.

Anderson, the first right tackle to be named to three straight All-Pro first teams in 30 years during his dozen seasons in Cincinnati, is one of 15 names revealed Wednesday night.

Anderson, 48, who runs his offensive line academy in Atlanta, was on the phone with a parent of a player when he got the word Wednesday night. He promptly thanked Who Dey Nation via social media.

“Thank you so much to all our fans who have kept my name alive these last 15 years of retirement,” Anderson wrote. “Also others who are not Bengals fans who have kept this push to the finals for me last 3 years! I am truly appreciative of you. Wouldn’t be at this point without you #Whodey!”

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WILLIE ANDERSON FILE FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS

Willie Aaron Anderson (born July 11, 1975) is an American former professional football player who was an offensive tackle for the Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Auburn Tigers. He was selected by the Bengals 10th overall in the 1996 NFL Draft. A four-time Pro Bowler and three-time first-team All-Pro selection, Anderson played his first 12 seasons with the Bengals.

The 11 quarterback pressures Anderson allowed in 2006 were the fourth fewest pressures allowed by an offensive tackle in a season between 2006 and 2019. He was the first right tackle to be named a First-team All-Pro in three straight seasons since Dan Dierdorf, Ron Yary, and Rayfield Wright all did it in the 1970s, and the first right tackle to be named to the Pro Bowl in four straight seasons since Jackie Slater; no right tackle has accomplished those feats since Anderson.

In 2021, Willie Anderson was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame.

That following year, he became a member of the Ring of Honor induction class of 2022 for the Bengals, joining Paul Brown, Anthony Muñoz, Ken Anderson and Ken Riley.

Anderson has a son, Jair Hawkins-Anderson, who played college football at Georgia Tech.

He trains offensive linemen from high school to the NFL at the Willie Anderson Lineman Academy.