Philadelphia Eagles: 30 greatest players in franchise history

Easily the best Eagles player of this century has to be free safety Brian Dawkins. One of the best defensive backs of his generation, the Eagles made a phenomenal selection to take the safety in the second round of the 1996 NFL Draft out of Clemson. All Dawkins did is put together 13 of his 16 incredible Pro Football Hall of Fame career in Eagles uniform.

Dawkins cracked the starting squad as a rookie with the Eagles in 1996. He would start in 182 of the 183 games he played for the Eagles in his 13-year career with the team. Beginning in 1999, Dawkins made his first of nine career trips to the Pro Bowl. Seven of those trips occurred while he was the star defensive back for the Eagles.

Dawkins was on five first-team All-Pro squads. Four of them happened when he was with the Eagles. In total, Dawkins had 34 of his career 37 interception while playing for The Birds. He made the NFL’s All-Decade Team in the 2000s, is a member of the Eagles Hall of Fame and has his No. 20 jersey retired by the organization.

After having to wait a year more than he should have, Dawkins rightfully earned Canton enshrinement based on his football accomplishments with the Eagles and the Denver Broncos. His Canton classmates include the likes of Ray Lewis, Jerry Kramer, Randy Moss, Brian Urlacher and Terrell Owens, who decided to channel his inner Johnny Rotten and sit out his own induction ceremony. Overall, Dawkins had 707 tackles, 191 assists, 97 pass breakups, 34 interceptions and 21.0 quarterback sacks while with the Eagles.