The Philadelphia Eagles have had some of the best athletes at the safety position in NFL history.
Players such as Wes Hopkins, Andre Waters, Bill Bradley, Randy Logan, and Malcolm Jenkins are just some of the names that terrorized opponents through the years.
Then there was Brian Dawkins.
After Philadelphia took him in the second round of the 1996 draft out of Clemson, Dawkins laid waste to ball carriers for the next 16 years.
Is Brian Dawkins The Scariest Player in NFL history? pic.twitter.com/0KeC2gNsYz
— Deaconator🐧 (@Deaconator44) March 22, 2024
By the time he retired following the 2011 season, “Weapon X” had made over 1,100 tackles.
He was also voted to the Pro Bowl nine times and selected as an All-Pro five times.
Then, in 2018, Dawkins was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
This is the story of Brian Dawkins.
Growing up in Jacksonville
Brian Patrick Dawkins Sr. was born on October 13, 1973, in Jacksonville, Florida.
Not long after his birth, Dawkins’s father, Ralph, bought a house near Yancey Park in Jacksonville.
The intent was that Brian would use the park to find an outlet for all his pent-up energy.
“I just so happened to be blessed to live right around the corner from Yancey Park,’’ recalled Dawkins. “That’s where I spent a lot of time. Staying out of trouble first of all. I spent a lot of energy. I’m very energetic, devilish type of young man. As a child, growing I up took a lot of risks, had a lot of stitches and broken bones to prove it.’’
Ralph Dawkins encouraged his son to play sports and Brian grew to love playing football and basketball.
As a youth, Dawkins played on the offensive line even though his Pop Warner coaches noted he was one of the fastest players on the team.
It didn’t take long before Dawkins decided the O-line was not for him.
From the @jaxdotcom archives.
Here's Brian Dawkins in 1990, a 16-year-old at @RainesVikings practice.
Today, he's a brand-new member of the @ProFootballHOF.#Jacksonville pic.twitter.com/yDfQZ3Zyrq
— Clayton Freeman (@CFreemanJAX) February 4, 2018
He had to get out his aggression and decided that playing defense was his best bet.
“A lot of the toughness that’s in me was developed where I grew up,’’ said Dawkins, who would find his niche at safety. “I had anger and a chip on my shoulder, so that could have easily been taken into another direction. But because of football and having the ability to play the game of football and basketball, because I played both, it allowed me to harness those things and push them in the right direction.’’
A Star at Raines High School
When Dawkins began playing sports at William Raines High School in Jacksonville, he knew he was destined for greatness.
The Vikings program is well known for producing NFL-level talent that includes Hall of Fame receiver Harold Carmichael.
William M. Raines High School (Jacksonville, FL)
Brian Dawkins ’92
Harold Carmichael ’67
Lito Sheppard ’99
Ken Burrough ’66
Shawn Jefferson ’87
Jabar Gaffney ’99
Derrick Alexander ’91
Rod Gardner ’96
Solomon Kindley ’16
Louis Nix ’09@rainesfootball pic.twitter.com/wo7990QnMx— Prep2ProDB (@Prep2ProDB) January 26, 2022
Dawkins made it his mission to be the next Raines student-athlete to make it to the pros.
Initially, it looked like Dawkins’s future was in the NBA.
In 1991, he helped the Vikings’ hoops team win the Class 3A state title.
“He could jump out the gym, always hustle and was a good kid,’’ Hayward Bullard, Dawkins’ youth basketball coach said in 2018. “He was respectful, did everything you asked him to do and never talked back. He almost played all five positions for me. He was that good of an athlete and I thought he would stick with basketball.’’
Although he was talented on the hardwood, Dawkins loved the game of football and enjoyed bringing the pain, even at the expense of his teammates.
“I have known him since Pop Warner,’’ said Raines football coach Deran Wiley, who was Dawkins’ high school teammate. “He was a hitter. I remember one time in tackling drills, I was up and I looked across and he was the guy and I was nervous and little intimidated. Brian was a beast.’’
Clemson
Dawkins was a standout athlete in high school, but he had trouble trying to get major college programs to sign him.
South Carolina and the University of Florida were just two of the schools that Dawkins wanted to play for.
Unfortunately, neither program showed him love in return.
Thankfully, Patrick Sapp, his close friend since middle school, asked Dawkins if he was interested in going to Clemson University.
Sapp had been recruited by the Tigers and told the Clemson coaches that he would sign only if they offered Dawkins as well.
Brian Dawkins Clemson 🐅 pic.twitter.com/2ZDafC4eDr
— CFB Home (@CFBHome) February 15, 2021
The Clemson coaches agreed.
“So he called Clemson and told them if he went to Clemson, then Brian has to come to, I didn’t know that then,” said Dawkins in 2021. “I thought they wanted me. How I got there was somebody looking out for me and taking a chance on me. Not a lot was expected of me when I got there. When I got there, I was 5-10, 175 pounds soaking wet.”
Little did the Tigers coaches know that Dawkins would become one of the best players in team history.
All-ACC
Dawkins may have arrived in Death Valley as a long shot, but he didn’t stay that way for long.
As a redshirt in 1992, Dawkins didn’t play but he settled into the starting strong safety position in 1993.
That season, as the Tigers went 9-3, Dawkins played in 11 games as well as the Peach Bowl and made an impression with his booming hits and three interceptions.
His play brought Dawkins the first of three consecutive All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) selections.
Brian Dawkins Clemson Career Highlights 💣 pic.twitter.com/NYhwpJvQT8
— Clemson Highlights (@ClemsonRT) May 9, 2022
During the 1994 season, Clemson had an off year and won only five times under new coach Tommy West.
Dawkins tried his best to win each game by himself by netting his second All-ACC nod after two picks and numerous bone-rattling hits.
ACC Co-Leader
In 1995, West’s team went 8-4, including a 41-0 blowout loss in the Gator Bowl to quarterback Donovan McNabb and Syracuse.
Once again Dawkins proved he was one of the best safeties in the nation as a junior.
BRIAN DAWKINS #Clemson 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/gMjuead5o5
— Majin Mamba (@Majinmentality) December 29, 2019
During a game against Duke on November 11, Dawkins snagged no less than three interceptions off Blue Devils quarterback Spence Fischer in the first quarter alone.
That represented half of his six total picks (including one pick-six) in ‘95 that co-led the ACC.
At the end of the season, Dawkins received his third All-ACC nod as well as a second-team All-American selection by the AP and the Sporting News.
With nothing left to prove at the collegiate level, Dawkins decided to skip his final year and enter the 1996 NFL Draft.
While playing for Clemson, Dawkins racked up 247 total tackles and 11 interceptions.
In 2009, he was added to Clemson’s Athletic Hall of Fame and the university honored him in 2013 with the Brian Dawkins Lifetime Achievement Award.
Each year the award honors a former Tigers player for not only their play on the gridiron but their leadership skills and role in the community.
Impact Rookie
Dawkins may have made the highlight reels during the 1995 college football season, but he wasn’t going to sit back and wait for NFL teams to see his value.
During the 1996 NFL Scouting Combine, the safety put on an athletic performance that wowed the personnel people at the event.
“He just took over the combine. You would’ve thought he was the captain of the DBs at the workout. He was ahead of everybody. He was doing everything. Which is the same thing I saw at Clemson,” said then-Philadelphia Eagles Director of Scouting John Wooten.
Still enamored with Dawkins’s Combine performance, as well as his stats in college, the Eagles took him with the 61st overall pick in the second round of the 1996 NFL Draft.
Head coach Ray Rhodes named Dawkins the backup free safety to begin the season.
Brian Dawkins and Bobby Taylor stand over a fallen Michael Irvin during a 1996 Eagles-Cowboys game: pic.twitter.com/ltZboMi9
— SI Vault (@si_vault) October 28, 2011
By the end of the team’s second game against Green Bay, he was the starter.
While Philly’s 10-6 season progressed, Dawkins started 13 games and collected 74 tackles, a sack and three interceptions.
Dawkins Contemplates Suicide
Despite his fantastic performance as a rookie, Dawkins was experiencing great inner turmoil.
NFL Hall of Famer Brian Dawkins shares openly about his depression and what has worked to keep it at bay. https://t.co/hb9lBg2zlZ@BrianDawkins #NFL #depression #suicide #mentalhealth #podcast pic.twitter.com/KdJDr5RBLP
— Giving Voice to Depression 🎙 Podcast (@VoiceDepression) March 25, 2023
Not only was he trying to prove himself capable of being a great NFL player, he was recently married to his long-time girlfriend, Connie, (before his final year in college) and feeling overwhelmed with life.
“I had suicidal thoughts for most of my rookie year,” Dawkins said in 2011. “I was on medication for the year. I was a young man, newly married, a new father, family issues, money issues,” he recalls. “I was drinking…I was a person who did not know how to handle it.”
Eventually, Dawkins went to therapy and became a Christian, a decision that shaped him into a better person and teammate.
“I made the decision to get serious about my relationship with God and start to think about everything I do and say being a reflection of Him,” said Dawkins.
Years later, Dawkins shared that his openness about his mental health issues reached people all over the globe.
“…that message went out far beyond the borders of the U.S. and to the world,” said Dawkins in 2021. “And so that was even a stronger indication of the need for individuals to understand that it’s OK not to be OK. It is. It’s OK not to be OK. But it’s not OK to stay not OK, because there’s help for you. There was help for me that whole time I was going through what I was going through.”
Making a Name For Himself
After the Eagles lost to San Francisco in the 1996 playoffs, the team couldn’t get better than six wins in the next two seasons.
That spelled the end of Rhodes’ tenure and led team owner Jeffrey Lurie to hire Packers quarterbacks coach Andy Reid.
Not surprisingly, the hiring upset the perpetually fickle Eagles fan base who couldn’t understand why Lurie didn’t hire someone with coordinator experience.
Initially, the die-hards were proven correct when Philly tanked to 5-11 in Reid’s first season.
Thankfully, Reid turned things around in 2000 when the Eagles won 11 games and defeated Tampa Bay in the Wild Card round before losing to the Giants in the divisional round.
Meanwhile, Dawkins was becoming known for his thunderous hits, passionate speeches to teammates before games, and his quirky personality while on the field.
“He’s the hardest hitter on the team,” said former teammate Jeremiah Trotter. “He hits like a linebacker. He hurts people. He’s knocked them out. He’s knocked himself out. Shoot, he’s knocked us out.”
Between 1997 and 2001, he piled up tackles in bunches and also hauled in an astounding 15 interceptions including pick-sixes in ‘97 and 1999.
Brian Dawkins
Safety
Philadelphia Eagles (1996-2008)pic.twitter.com/c4bKpFwZZN— Random Philly Athletes (@philly_athletes) September 9, 2022
Dawkins was voted to the Pro Bowl in 1999 and then again in 2001 when he had 70 tackles, 1.5 sacks, two interceptions, and two fumble recoveries including one returned for a touchdown.
He was also selected as a first-team All-Pro in ‘01 for the first of four times.
Dawkins Becomes “Weapon X”
By the time Philadelphia was advancing to the NFC title game following their 11-5, 2001 season, Dawkins had built a large action figure collection that occupied space next to his locker.
Ever since he was young, Dawkins has loved the X-Men and Marvel Comics.
Marvel honors Brian Dawkins with 'Weapon X' comic book cover https://t.co/440Ieyavml
— TigerNet.com (@ClemsonTigerNet) June 30, 2022
His favorite character is Wolverine and he would imagine he was the snarling mutant during games, wreaking havoc as his favorite character.
“Before ‘Weapon X’, I had another name I used for myself – a persona that I took on before I went on the field. I’ve always felt that ‘Brian Dawkins’ never played a down in the National Football League; it was always an alter ego. And for a long time at the beginning of my career in the NFL, I called that part of me ‘Idiot Man.’ So it was like ‘Idiot Man did that…’ or ‘Idiot Man did this…’ I was no longer Brian Dawkins; I was Idiot Man,” said Dawkins in 2021.
When media members asked him questions about his collection, Dawkins went into great detail about the origin stories of each action figure, especially Wolverine.
“After that, the press continued to ask me about the character, and I explained some of his complexities and characteristics,” explained Dawkins. “I told them how I love that, and how it empowered me a little bit. And so they put two and two together, and the name caught on. So for me, BOOM! Instead of calling myself ‘Idiot Man,’ I became Weapon X.”
As any Marvel fan will explain, the Weapon X research facility often took human subjects and turned them into living, breathing weapons of mass destruction.
Brian Dawkins. Weapon X. Hall of Famer.#PFHOF18 | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/koyGDWgUkI
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) August 4, 2018
The program produced characters such as Wolverine, Deadpool, and Sabretooth.
Dawkins Pulls Off a “Quadrafecta”
As the nickname caught on, Dawkins would occasionally stick his hands on the ground and lope onto the field during pre-game introductions as if he were Wolverine.
His entertaining introductions sent the home crowd into a fury and Dawkins was the favorite player of most Eagles fans.
Brian Dawkins was a bad, bad man.
They don't make 'em like Weapon X anymore 😤 @BrianDawkins pic.twitter.com/3X69MmewxS
— NFL Films (@NFLFilms) May 10, 2022
That proved even more true in Week 4 of the 2002 season when he nearly single-handedly beat the Houston Texans.
During the game, Weapon X proved impossible to stop.
He not only sacked Houston’s rookie quarterback David Carr, Dawkins also made six tackles, deflected two passes, intercepted Carr once, forced and recovered a fumble, and caught a touchdown pass.
His offensive score came in the third quarter when teammate Brian Westbrook tossed Dawkins a quick pass during a fake punt.
In honor of Brian Dawkins' Hall of Fame induction, let's take a look back at his "Football Cycle" game against Houston in 2002. It's when he became the first player in NFL history to intercept a pass, register a sack, recover a fumble, and score a touchdown all in the same game. pic.twitter.com/RrREO8UuL0
— Kansas More Chaints (@AdrianFedkiw) August 4, 2018
Dawkins became the first player in NFL history to have a touchdown reception, recover a fumble, haul in an interception, and make a sack in a single game.
The 35-17 victory gave Philly a 3-1 record on the way to a 12-4 finish.
Weapon X Detroys Crumpler
For the next few years, Dawkins continued pounding ball carriers into submission while Philly continued coming up short in the playoffs.
From 2001-2003, the team lost in the NFC Championship game each year.
During the ‘03 season, Dawkins missed several games due to a badly sprained ankle but returned strong in 2004.
That season, he went to his fourth Pro Bowl on the strength of 70 tackles, three sacks, and four interceptions.
The Eagles rode the right arm of Donovan McNabb (who sliced up Dawkins’s Tigers in the 1996 Gator Bowl) and the receptions of receiver Terrell Owens to a 13-3 record, the most wins in a single season in franchise history.
Philly’s defense was the second-best unit in the NFL and boasted Hugh Douglas, Jevon “The Freak” Kearse, Trotter, Dawkins, and fellow Raines High School alum, Lito Sheppard.
One week after defeating Minnesota in the divisional round, the Eagles met the Atlanta Falcons and their super quarterback, Michael Vick.
Philly’s take-no-prisoners defense harrassed Vick all day.
No. 7… Brian Dawkins' hit on Alge Crumpler in the 2004 NFC Championship. pic.twitter.com/YXbe6eBnUd
— Philly Nation (@Philly__Nation) December 30, 2018
Dawkins made one tackle, defended two passes, intercepted the signal-caller, and delivered a massive blow to Falcons tight end Alge Crumpler that was felt by viewers across the nation.
“That was kind of a tone-setter for what the game was going to be about,” Dawkins said. “It was going to be a physical contest. We knew that going into it. We talked about it all week long. It just so happened that Alge got the brunt of that blow when it comes to the frustration and anger I felt.”
Weapon X and his teammates wouldn’t be denied a Super Bowl berth and soundly beat Atlanta, 27-10.
Super Bowl XXXIX
As the Eagles and New England Patriots prepared for Super Bowl XXXIX (played in Dawkins’s hometown of Jacksonville), there was heavy speculation as to whether Terrell Owens would suit up.
He had been seriously injured in a late December game against Dallas and missed the remainder of the season as well as the playoffs.
However, he worked hard to get back to a physical condition where he believed he could help Philly.
Through the first half of the contest, both teams fought like mad for yards and the halftime score was 7-7.
By the end of the third quarter, the score was still tied at 14-all.
In the final quarter, the Pats scored twice to increase their lead to 24-14.
Philly answered with a McNabb touchdown pass to receiver Greg Lewis to cut into New England’s lead, 24-21.
On this date in 2005, Super Bowl XXXIX, the New England Patriots. Wooooooooo!
— Honest☘️Larry (@HonestLarry1) February 6, 2023
Ultimately, the Eagles’ time ran out and the Pats won their third championship in four years.
Owens proved his injury didn’t affect him by catching nine passes for 122 yards.
Dawkins made five combined tackles in the losing effort.
Dawkins Ends His Time in Philly
The next four seasons saw the Eagles return to the postseason twice including a trip to the NFC Championship in 2008 (a loss to the Arizona Cardinals).
During that period, Dawkins went to three more Pro Bowls while collecting nine interceptions, 7.5 sacks, and a plethora of tackles and defended passes.
After the ‘08 season, the Eagles believed that Dawkins’s best years were more than likely behind him and allowed Weapon X to become a free agent.
Of the many teams interested in signing him, Dawkins chose to become a Denver Bronco when team owner Pat Bowlen rolled out the red carpet.
Dawkins, for his part, was ready to prove to himself that he was not washed up yet.
“So, coming from Philadelphia and really feeling like they felt that I was basically done, so to speak, I’m like, ‘OK.’ That motivated the heck out of me to come into that next year to go out and prove me right. I’m not trying to prove them wrong. I’m going to prove me right, because I didn’t want to give anybody power over me. So I’m using this fuel, and I’m about to go prove me right that I have a whole lot more left in the tank,” said Dawkins in 2021.
He most certainly did.
In his first year in Denver, Dawkins made his eighth Pro Bowl by reaching career-highs in combined tackles (116) and solo tackles (95).
Brian Dawkins Denver Broncos… https://t.co/Z4eDYWeITl pic.twitter.com/lb2PMYlYEz
— NFL (@NFLSeason17) December 10, 2017
He also had two picks, 10 passes defended, forced a fumble, and had three fumble recoveries.
Despite his best efforts, the Broncos went 8-8 and missed the postseason in coach Mike Shanahan’s final year.
Dawkins Retires
In 2009, Denver hired former Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.
The result was a combined 12-20 record in ‘09 and 2010.
After McDaniels was fired near the end of 2010, the franchise hired former Carolina Panthers head coach John Fox in 2011.
Denver went 8-8 but rallied around second-year quarterback Tim Tebow.
The defense also thrived with Defensive Rookie of the Year Von Miller and Dawkins.
Brian Dawkins in Denver. pic.twitter.com/JQ1fnZ5aXL
— Francisco (@Rojas_Media_) July 6, 2023
While Dawkins played well enough to get voted to his ninth Pro Bowl, he fired up the team several times with impassioned speeches.
“He has great messages,” nose tackle Jamal Williams said. “The energy he brings to his messages, its like there is a fire inside.”
When the team reached the playoffs, not many gave the Broncos a chance against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Wild Card round.
However, the contest went into overtime before Tebow unleashed a shocking 80-yard throw on the first play of the extra quarter that was caught by Demaryius Thomas for the game-winner.
One week later, New England humbled Denver, 45-10, in the divisional round.
Then, in April, Dawkins decided to retire after 16 seasons.
Career Accolades
During his career, Weapon X made 1,147 combined tackles, 911 solo stops, 59 tackles for loss, 26 sacks, 19 fumble recoveries including one returned for a touchdown, 36 forced fumbles, 153 passes deflected, 37 interceptions for 513 return yards and two pick-sixes, and one offensive touchdown from a reception.
Happy 47th Birthday to Brian Dawkins!
9× Pro Bowler
5x All-Pro
NFL 2000s All-Decade Team
Philadelphia Eagles Hall of Fame
Philadelphia Eagles No. 20 retired
26 career sacks
36 career force fumbles
19 career fumble recoveries
37 career interceptions
4 career touchdowns pic.twitter.com/CsBfhYkkbn— CBS Sports HQ (@CBSSportsHQ) October 13, 2020
Dawkins’s sacks and interceptions put him in the exclusive “20-20 Club” of at least 20 career sacks and 20 interceptions.
The small club includes Dawkins, Ray Lewis, Charles Woodson, and Rodney Harrison.
In addition to his “quadrafecta” game highlights, Dawkins was also the first player in NFL history to have at least 30 forced fumbles and 30 interceptions in his career.
He was a nine-time Pro Bowler, five-time All-Pro, PFWA All-Rookie Team member in 1996, and played in Super Bowl XXXIX.
In later years, Dawkins was selected as a member of the NFL’s 2000s All-Decade Team and the Eagles 75th Anniversary Team and placed in the Eagles Hall of Fame.
His number 20 was retired by the organization.
Brian Dawkins’ Hall of Fame speech was legendary https://t.co/fBWKV0LKqD
— Bleeding Green Nation (@BleedingGreen) August 5, 2018
Seven years after he retired, Dawkins was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018.
Life After Football
Since leaving the playing field, Dawkins has been busy.
In 2016 and 2017, he was Philly’s Executive of Football Operations for Player Development.
The Eagles Have Hired Brian Dawkins as a Football Operations Executive https://t.co/4NowkN8gdc pic.twitter.com/o5KmcaIzVj
— Philly Influencer (@PHL_Influencer) August 16, 2016
After the 2017 regular season, the Eagles advanced to Super Bowl LII and once again met the New England Patriots.
This time, Philly defeated Tom Brady, 41-33, and Dawkins got a long-awaited championship ring as a team executive.
In early 2018, Dawkins left his position with the Eagles to spend more time with his Brian Dawkins Impact Foundation.
The foundation seeks to help students, families, and communities in need through “cerebral wellness,” financial literacy, and single-family assistance programs.
Dawkins and his wife, Connie, have four children.
Their son, Brian Jr., played cornerback for Clemson through the 2019-2020 season.
References
https://www.tigernet.com/forum/thread/Brian-Dawkins-gives-back-to-Raines-High-School-76606
https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/brian-dawkins-1.html
https://clemsontigers.com/black-history-month-brian-dawkins/
https://www.yardbarker.com/nfl/articles/brian_dawkins_career_retrospective/s1__37880390#slide_3
https://syndication.bleacherreport.com/amp/421529-brian-dawkins-a-philadelphia-hero.amp.html
https://www.profootballhof.com/players/brian-dawkins/
https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/D/DawkBr00.htm
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