Brian Patrick Dawkins Sr. (born October 13, 1973), nicknamed "Weapon X", is an American former professional football safety who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons, primarily with the Philadelphia Eagles. He played college football for the Clemson Tigers and was selected by the Eagles in the second round of the 1996 NFL draft. In his last three seasons, he played for the Denver Broncos.
Regarded as one of the greatest safeties of all time, Dawkins was viewed as the leader of the Eagles defense, named to nine Pro Bowls and five All-Pro teams. He also made an appearance in Super Bowl XXXIX. In addition to his playing career, Dawkins served the Eagles as an executive of football operations for player development from 2016 to 2018 and was with the organization when they won Super Bowl LII. He was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018.
Dawkins graduated from William M. Raines High School in Jacksonville, Florida in 1992. He played both football and basketball in high school, and helped lead the basketball team to a Class 3A championship. Dawkins was not highly recruited out of high school, but received a scholarship offer from Clemson University at the request of his high school teammate, Patrick Sapp.
Dawkins was a three-year starter at defensive back for the Clemson Tigers football team, finishing his career with 247 tackles and 11 interceptions. He received first-team All-ACC Honors in 1995 and was selected by the Associated Press and Sporting News as a second-team All-American as a senior when his team-high six interceptions tied him for the conference lead. He was named the first-team strong safety on Clemson's all-centennial team in 1996 and was selected to their Athletic Hall of Fame in 2009. On January 11, 2013, Clemson University established the Brian Dawkins Lifetime Achievement Award to annually honor a former Clemson player for their performance on the field, contributions in leadership and community service.
The Philadelphia Eagles selected Dawkins in the second round (61st overall) of the 1996 NFL draft. Dawkins was the fifth safety drafted in 1996. The Philadelphia Eagles drafted Dawkins using a compensatory pick they received from the departure of Seth Joyner in free agency in 1994.
On July 16, 1996, the Philadelphia Eagles signed Dawkins to a four-year, $1.27 million rookie contract that included a signing bonus of $443,000.
Dawkins entered training camp slated as the backup free safety behind Eric Zomalt who earned the starting role after Greg Jackson departed in free agency. Head coach Ray Rhodes named Dawkins the backup free safety to start the regular season, behind Eric Zomalt.
He made his professional regular-season debut in the Philadelphia Eagles' season-opener at the Washington Redskins and made one tackle in their 17–14 victory. The following week, Dawkins earned his first career start and collected a season-high 11 combined tackles during a 39–13 loss at the Green Bay Packers in week 2. On September 18, 1996, head coach Ray Rhodes officially named Dawkins the starting free safety, alongside strong safety Mike Zordich, after he surpassed Eric Zomalt on the depth chart. Zomalt was subsequently released the following day. On September 22, 1996, Dawkins recorded four combined tackles and made his first career interception during a 33–18 win at the Atlanta Falcons in week 4. Dawkins made his first career interception off a pass by Falcons' backup quarterback Bobby Hebert, that was originally intended for wide receiver Bert Emanuel, and returned it for a 30-yard gain to seal the Eagles' victory in the fourth quarter. In week 5, he recorded eight combined tackles, forced a fumble, and made his first career sack in the Eagles' 23–19 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. Dawkins made his first career sack on Cowboys' quarterback Troy Aikman during the third quarter and also stripped the ball during the play. The ball was recovered by Dawkins' teammate Rhett Hall and returned for a 32-yard touchdown. He finished his rookie season in 1996 with 75 combined tackles, three interceptions, a sack, and a forced fumble in 14 games and 13 starts. The Philadelphia Eagles' defense ranked 21st in the league overall, but allowed the sixth-fewest passing yards (2,979 yards) in 1996.
The Philadelphia Eagles finished second in the NFC East with a 10–6 record and earned a wildcard berth. On December 29, 1996, Dawkins started in his first career playoff game and recorded six combined tackles as they lost 14–0 to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Wild Card Game.
Defensive coordinator Emmitt Thomas retained Dawkins and Mike Zordich as the starting safeties in 1997, along with cornerbacks Troy Vincent and Bobby Taylor.
On September 28, 1997, he collected a season-high eight combined tackles during a 28–19 loss at the Minnesota Vikings in week 5. Dawkins was inactive for a week 8 victory against the Arizona Cardinals due to an injury. On December 7, 1997, Dawkins recorded seven combined tackles and returned an interception for his first career touchdown during the Eagles' 32–21 loss to the New York Giants in week 15. Dawkins intercepted a pass by quarterback Danny Kanell, that was initially thrown to wide receiver Chris Calloway, and returned it for a 64-yard touchdown in the third quarter. He finished the 1997 season with 75 combined tackles, three interceptions, and a touchdown in 15 games and 15 starts. The Eagles' defense finished ranked 24th overall, but allowed the seventh-fewest passing yards (2,923 yards) in 1997.
Head coach Ray Rhodes elected to retain the starting secondary for the second consecutive season. On December 7, 1998, Dawkins collected a season-high eight combined tackles and forced a fumble during a 31–21 loss to the New York Giants in week 15. Dawkins was sidelined for two games (Weeks 7–9) due to an injury. Dawkins finished the 1998 season with 55 combined tackles, two interceptions, a sack, and a forced fumble in 14 games and 14 starts. On December 28, 1998, the Philadelphia Eagles fired head coach Ray Rhodes after they finished with a 3–13 record in 1998.
On July 16, 1999, the Philadelphia Eagles signed Dawkins to a three-year, $1.27 million contract.
Head coach Andy Reid named Dawkins the starting free safety to begin the regular season, alongside strong safety Tim Hauck. In week 3, he made six combined tackles, forced a fumble, and made an interception during a 26–0 loss at the Buffalo Bills. Dawkins intercepted a pass by quarterback Doug Flutie, that was originally intended for wide receiver Peerless Price, in the second quarter. His performance was his third consecutive game with an interception. In week 9, he collected a season-high eight combined tackles in the Eagles' 33–7 loss at the Carolina Panthers. He finished the 1999 season with 73 combined tackles, six forced fumbles, four interceptions, 1.5 sacks, and a touchdown in 14 games and 14 starts. Dawkins flourished in his first season under defensive coordinator Jim Johnson and was subsequently named to the 2000 Pro Bowl, marking the first Pro Bowl selection of his career.
In week 11, Dawkins collected a season-high eight combined tackles during a 26–23 victory at the Pittsburgh Steelers. The following week, he recorded seven combined tackles and made a season-high two sacks on Cardinals' quarterback Jake Plummer during the Eagles' 34–9 win at the Arizona Cardinals in week 12. Dawkins finished the 2000 season with a total of 75 combined tackles, four interceptions, two sacks, and a forced fumble in 13 games and 13 starts.
Head coach Andy Reid retained the core of the starting secondary as the starters, including Dawkins, Troy Vincent, and Bobby Taylor. Dawkins was paired with starting strong safety Damon Moore in 2001.
He started in the Philadelphia Eagles' season-opener against the St. Louis Rams and collected a season-high eight combined tackles and deflected three passes in their 20–17 loss. On December 9, 2001, Dawkins tied his season-high of eight combined tackles, broke up two passes, forced a fumble, and returned a fumble recovery for a touchdown during the Eagles' 24–14 win against the San Diego Chargers in week 13. Dawkins forced a fumble by Chargers' running back LaDainian Tomlinson in the first quarter and recovered the ball before returning it for a 49-yard touchdown. On December 16, 2001, he made six solo tackles, two pass deflections, and intercepted two passes by quarterback Tony Banks in the Eagles' 20–6 victory against the Washington Redskins in week 14. He finished the season with 68 combined tackles (56 solo), 14 passes defensed, two interceptions, two forced fumbles, 1.5 sacks, and a touchdown in 15 games and 15 starts. The Philadelphia Eagles defense ranked second in the league in 2001 and the secondary continued to have success under position coaches Leslie Frazier and Steve Spagnuolo. The secondary allowed the second-fewest yards in the league (2,928 yards) and allowed the second-fewest touchdown passes (13). On January 3, 2002, Dawkins was one of five Philadelphia Eagles' players named to the 2002 Pro Bowl.