Brian Dawkins is one of the best players in the history of the Philadelphia Eagles. He can now add NFL Pro Football Hall of Fame member to his long list of accolades.
On Saturday evening the former Raines Viking was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, according to our News4Jax partner.
Dawkins was a member of the 2000s NFL all decade team. Over the course of his 16-year NFL career he had 1,131 tackles, 37 interceptions, 26 sacks, 120 pass deflections, 36 forced fumbles and 19 fumble recoveries in 224 career games (221 starts).
Dawkins was best known for being an intimidating big hitter at safety. He was selected to the Pro Bowl nine times and earned four First Team All-Pro Honors (six times overall).
Just because he was a big hitter doesn’t mean that Dawkins was a liability in coverage. He is one of only six players in NFL history that finished their career with at least 25 interceptions and 25 sacks.
Dawkins was drafted in the second round by the Eagles in 1996. He played in Philadelphia from 1996-2008 before finishing his career with the Denver Broncos in 2011.
This fall the Vikings won their first state title in football in two decades. The Vikings head coach is Deran Wiley who was a teammate of Dawkins at Raines.
Prior to Dawkins, former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Bob Hayes was the last Jacksonville native to reach the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Hayes was a member of the Class of 2009.
