Is Brian Dawkins A Sure Fire Hall Of Famer?

by TigerNet Staff - Monday, January 30, 2012 10:46 AM

Brian Dawkins
Pos: S Height: 6-0 Weight: 200 Hometown: Jacksonville, FL (Raines HS HS) Years Played: 1992 - 1995

From Gcobb.com:

Savvy, tough, hard-hitting and fearless, Dawkins plays with a reckless abandon that made him one of the best safeties in the past 20 years. Locally Dawkins, fondly known as Weapon X, is a legend of super hero proportions rivalling such allegories of wrestling bears, being seven-feet tall and more powerful than a speeding locomotive.

Ask any Eagles fan and they instantly laud him as a Hall of Famer. Nationally though, has legend exceeded reality? Is Brian DawkinsBrian Dawkins
Safety
#20 6-0, 200
Jacksonville, FL
View Full Profile a future hall of famer? It is not as sure a thing as many locals think.

While Dawkins has enjoyed a fine career, he is far from the preeminent safety of his era. He is regularly rated below the other elite safeties of his generation, Troy Polamalu and Ed Reed, and possibly as low as fifth best safety of his era. Had it not been for Bob Sanders’ injury plagued career with the Indianapolis Colts, maybe as low as sixth. It can legitimately be argued that during his time playing, Dawkins was ranked behind Polamalu, Reed, Lynch and Darren Sharper as a safety. For a position that only has 9 members in the Hall of Fame, this could be troublesome for Dawkins’ Hall of Fame candidacy.

Statistically, there is not one category that embodies Dawkins’ exclusivity. He has passed the century mark in tackles in a season only once and has scored only four touchdowns in his career. He has tallied 26 sacks, which while solid, is not exactly an eye-popping number that will garner attention. He has intercepted 37 passes which are far less than Darren Sharper and Ed Reed.