MINNEAPOLIS — Brian Dawkins, known to many as “Weapon X,” will now be known to all as a Hall of Famer.
On the eve of Super Bowl LII, the former Eagles and Broncos safety was selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, joining Terrell Owens, Randy Moss, Brian Urlacher and Ray Lewis, plus senior selections Robert Brazile and Jerry Kramer, and contributor Bobby Beathard in the Hall’s Class of 2018.
The Hall’s 48-member selection committee convened for more than eight hours in Bloomington, Minn., reviewing each candidate and narrowing the list of modern-era players from 15 to 10 and then the final five.
Former Broncos safety and Ring of Famer John Lynch, a finalist for the fifth consecutive year, failed to make the cut and did not make it to the final round of 10, as he did in 2017.
Dawkins, meanwhile, is headed to Canton as only the ninth true safety and he could arrive with even more hardware. Currently a football operations executive with the Eagles, Dawkins is one victory away from earning the Super Bowl ring that eluded him as a player. (He helped the Eagles to Super Bowl XXXIX, against the Patriots no less, but Philadelphia lost 24-21.)
The longtime Eagle (1996-2008) and one of the franchise’s most beloved figures who finished out his career in Denver (2009-11), Dawkins was drafted by Philadelphia in the second round (No. 61 overall) in 1996 and was voted the team’s defensive MVP five times.
In his career, he earned nine Pro Bowl selections and logged more than 1,100 tackles, to go with 37 interceptions, 36 forced fumbles, 19 fumble recoveries and 26 sacks. In 2009, his first year with the Broncos, he was voted the team’s Ed Block Courage Award winner. But his three total in Denver led to much more, including mentoring a key piece of the Broncos’ secondary.
“He did a great job,” cornerback Chris Harris said of Dawkins, one of his biggest influences early in his NFL career. “We used to have an hour of film study together, with just corners and safeties when I first came into the league. He showed me formations and things like that.”
Although he may not be viewed as a true or longtime Bronco, Dawkins will stand alongside former Broncos quarterback turned general manager John Elway (inducted in 2004), tackle Gary Zimmerman (2008), running back Floyd Little (2010), tight end Shannon Sharpe (2011) and running back Terrell Davis (2017) in the Hall.
Lynch, meanwhile, will wait until at least 2019 before he receives the honorary knock on the hotel door from Pro Football Hall of Fame president David Baker.
The last year-and-a-half have been especially kind to Lynch, who entered the Broncos Ring of Fame in October 2016, joined the Buccaneers’ Ring of Honor weeks later, then was awarded a six-year contract to be general manager of the 49ers.
A nine-time Pro Bowler and four-time Hall of Fame finalist, Lynch was a key piece of the Bucs’ defense in 2002 that carried them to a Super Bowl XXXVII victory. He spent the first 11 seasons of his career in Tampa before joining the Broncos for another four, earning a Pro Bowl nod in each season in Denver. In 224 regular-season games, Lynch had 26 interceptions, 13 sacks and more than 1,200 tackles.
But the biggest honor has yet to come
The year of 2018 belongs to Dawkins.
