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As literally the last line of defense (hence the name “safety”), an intimidating safety can not only keep points off the board, but can also instill a sense of fear in the opposing team’s offensive players. During the 2000s, a number of great safeties roamed the NFL’s defensive backfields (Troy Polamalu, Ed Reed, etc.), including a pair of hard hitters in Brian Dawkins of the Philadelphia Eagles and John Lynch of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Both defensive stalwarts were known for bone-crushing tackles, as well as intensity and leadership on the field, thus embodying the proverbial “heart-and-soul” type player any team would be lucky to have. The career parallels run even deeper, as Dawkins and Lynch both coincidentally concluded their NFL playing days with the Denver Broncos – thus, let us look at these two great safeties of the early 21st century and ask:
Who was better – Brian Dawkins or John Lynch?
The Beginning
Dawkins and Lynch each excelled at a variety of sports growing up (in fact, Lynch could have easily ended up being an MLB pitcher!) before devoting themselves fully to football; perhaps due to his later specialization in football, Lynch would take longer to establish himself as a professional football player.
A native of Jacksonville, Florida, Dawkins played both football and basketball in high school (even winning a state championship in basketball) before heading to Clemson on a football scholarship. A three-year starter with the Tigers, he was First Team All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and Second Team All-American as a senior, which led to the Eagles selecting him with the 61st overall pick in the second round of the 1996 NFL Draft; Dawkins started as a rookie and compiled 74 total tackles, 1.0 sack, and 3 interceptions.
Similarly, Lynch was born in Illinois, but grew up outside of San Diego, California, where he excelled in football, baseball, and basketball. As a result, he went to Stanford to play both football and baseball, where he was originally a quarterback before switching to safety ahead of his junior season. On the baseball diamond, Lynch was a star pitcher and was drafted with the 66th overall pick in the second round of the 1992 MLB Draft by the Florida Marlins, even pitching two years in the Marlins’ farm system. Nevertheless, he stuck with football, especially with legendary San Francisco 49ers coach Bill Walsh taking over as Stanford’s head coach for his senior year, and was eventually selected 82nd overall in the third round of the 1993 NFL Draft by the Buccaneers, though he played sparingly as a rookie (13 total tackles).
Career Comparison
For the next decade plus, Dawkins and Lynch were defensive cornerstones and perennial Pro Bowlers while leading their respective teams to some of the best seasons in franchise history; both would eventually end up in Denver, though they did not overlap as Broncos in the twilight of their illustrious careers.
Over the next few years, Dawkins was a solid free safety for the Eagles before earning the first of nine Pro Bowl selections in 1999 with 78 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 4 interceptions (a career-best matched 4x), and 6 forced fumbles. This would be followed by back-to-back Pro Bowl and All-Pro seasons in 2001 (70 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 2 interceptions, and 2 forced fumbles) and 2002 (95 tackles, 3.0 sacks, 2 interceptions, and 5 forced fumbles). Though he was limited by injuries to just seven games in 2003, Dawkins quickly bounced back with three consecutive Pro Bowl seasons, including two more All-Pro selections in 2004 and 2006:
- 2004: 70 tackles, 3.0 sacks, 4 interceptions, and 2 forced fumbles
- 2005: 80 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 3 interceptions, and 4 forced fumbles
- 2006: 98 tackles, 1.0 sack, 4 interceptions, and 5 forced fumbles
Following an injury-riddled 2007 season, Dawkins had yet another Pro Bowl campaign and would join the career 20/20 club, i.e. 20 sacks and 20 interceptions; he would later also join the 30/30 club for interceptions and forced fumbles. However, 2008 would be his last year in Philadelphia, as he joined the Denver Broncos for the 2009 season as a free agent signing – he did not miss a beat with a career-high 116 tackles plus 2 interceptions and a forced fumble. Having played free safety for most of his career, Dawkins moved to strong safety in 2010 and in his final NFL season at age 38 in 2011, he was once again a Pro Bowler with 51 tackles, 3.0 sacks, and a forced fumble; in 2012, he would sign a one-day contract to retire as an Eagle.
Meanwhile, Lynch spent a few years as a reserve before becoming the full-time starter at strong safety in 1996 in the Buccaneer’s famed “Cover 2” defense; playing behind Hall of Famers like defensive tackle Warren Sapp and linebacker Derrick Brooks, he accumulated 103 tackles, 1.0 sack, 3 interceptions (career-high on five occasions), and 2 forced fumbles. Lynch made the first of nine Pro Bowls in 1997 and in his late-20s peak, would then have four consecutive Pro Bowl seasons from 1999 to 2002, including back-to-back All-Pro campaigns:
- 1999: career-best 117 tackles, 0.5 sacks, 2 interceptions, and a forced fumble
- 2000: 85 tackles, 1.0 sack, and 3 interceptions
In 2003, Lynch had another workman-like season with 72 tackles and 2 interceptions, but missed out on the Pro Bowl and was released in the offseason by Tampa Bay in a salary cap move; subsequently, he preceded his counterpart Dawkins in joining the Broncos and was a Pro Bowler in each of his four seasons with Denver. Notably, Lynch notched a career-high 4.0 sacks in 2005, followed by his highest tackle output with the Broncos (84 tackles) in 2006. Following four years in the Mile High City, he signed with the New England Patriots in 2008, but ultimately never suited up for the team and retired having played his last NFL game in 2007 at age 36.
Coincidentally, Dawkin and Lynch each played in exactly 224 regular season NFL games (over 16 and 15 seasons, respectively) – the former not only racked up more career tackles, but was also more adept at generating “big plays” (interceptions, sacks, fumbles). Both safeties made nine Pro Bowls, but Dawkins was a 4x All-Pro vs. a pair of selections for Lynch. Given his generally superior career accomplishments, Dawkins was selected to the Hall of Fame in 2018, followed by Lynch in 2021 after a longer wait.
Regular Season Statistics
| Brian Dawkins | Player | John Lynch |
| 16 (1996-2011) | Seasons | 15 (1993-2007) |
| 224 | Games Played | 224 |
| 1,147 | Tackles | 1,059 |
| 37 | Interceptions | 26 |
| 26.0 | Sacks | 13.0 |
| 36 | Forced Fumbles | 16 |
| 3 | Defensive Touchdowns | – |
| 9x | Pro Bowls | 9x |
| 4x | All-Pro | 2x |
| – | Super Bowls | 1x |
| – | Other Awards | – |
| 2018 | Hall of Fame Induction | 2021 |
Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com
In contrast to their individual numbers and accomplishments, Lynch has the postseason edge against Dawkins – each player was an annual playoff participant and made it to the Super Bowl, but only Lynch was able to come away with the Lombardi Trophy.
Across eight playoff trips with Philadelphia (and none with Denver), Dawkins made it on multiple occasions to the NFC Championship Game (including a 27-10 loss to Lynch’s Buccaneers during Tampa Bay’s 2002 Super Bowl run) before finally breaking through and leading the Eagles to Super Bowl XXXIX vs. Tom Brady and the New England Patriots – in a game where Terrell Owens famously played with a broken leg, Dawkins contributed 2 tackles, 2 passes defended, and a forced fumble in a heartbreaking 24-21 loss.
As for Lynch, he played in the postseason 7x in his career (5x with Tampa Bay and 2x with Denver); in Tampa Bay, the Buccaneers were often characterized by a stifling defense and an anemic offense, but were finally able to put it all together in 2002 after trading for head coach Jon Gruden to reach Super Bowl XXXVII vs. league MVP Rich Gannon and the Oakland Raiders (the team Gruden was acquired from). Tampa Bay crushed Oakland 48-21 in the Super Bowl, forcing Gannon into a Super Bowl-record 5 interceptions, including 3 touchdown returns; Lynch had 6 tackles and a pass defended in the winning effort.
Playoff Statistics
| Brian Dawkins | Player | John Lynch |
| 18 | Games Played | 12 |
| 84 | Tackles | 63 |
| 4 | Interceptions | 2 |
| 2.0 | Sacks | – |
| 3 | Forced Fumbles | – |
Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com
Every athlete goes through a natural career lifecycle, from starting off as a rookie to reaching peak years of performance and finally, declining into the inevitable retirement due to a combination of age and/or injury; Dawkins and Lynch each spent their primes with the team that drafted them before joining Denver to conclude their careers as still very good, but not quite dominant safeties. For Hall of Fame caliber players across sports, I like to look at a concept I call a “decade of dominance.” The thinking behind this is that for most Hall of Fame type careers, there are roughly 10 great seasons that define an athlete (this idea is embodied in a sense by the NFL’s All-Decade teams, of which Dawkins is on for the 2000s team), though due to injury or other factors, they might not be 10 consecutive years.
Decade of Dominance
| Brian Dawkins | Player | John Lynch |
| 1999-2002, 2004-2006, 2008-2009, 2011 | Decade of Dominance | 1996-2002, 2004-2006 |
| 153 | Games Played | 157 |
| 805 | Tackles | 863 |
| 26 | Interceptions | 21 |
| 21.5 | Sacks | 11.5 |
| 33 | Forced Fumbles | 15 |
| 2 | Defensive Touchdowns | – |
Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com
Across their decades of dominance, Lynch was the more prolific tackler, but Dawkins retains the edge in big play ability with significantly more interceptions, sacks, and forced fumbles.
My Thoughts
In looking at great safeties of their era, I think the comparison between Brian Dawkins and John Lynch is pretty clear – I would rank Dawkins as the third-best safety of the 2000s behind Reed and Polamalu, with Lynch coming in just a notch below, the key differentiator being the greater versatility and big-play ability of the triumvirate. Given my ranking among these contemporary safeties, it perhaps make sense that it took longer for Lynch to make the Hall of Fame; nevertheless, he was a great player in his own right, leaving behind an indelible legacy as a core piece of the Tampa “Cover 2” defense of the 2000s and one of the most ferocious, hard-hitting defensive players in NFL history.
Thus, after weighing their careers against each other in terms of statistics, achievements, and impact, the winner of this faceoff is:
Brian Dawkins
As always, vote for your choice and leave your thoughts and comments below.
Further Reading
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