Windy City Gridiron
WCG’s lead draft analyst spoke with the Hall of Fame safety leading up to the NFL Draft.
Pro Football Hall of Famer Brian Dawkins made a career out of staying ready before the competition. Now, he’s carrying that same vigorous preparation to a cause near and dear to his heart.
The nine-time Pro Bowl safety plays a key role in spreading awareness for Boehringer & Lilly’s It Takes 2 health initiative, urging Americans to test for kidney disease, getting out ahead of any potential issues before they arise.
Dawkins has been raising awareness for chronic kidney disease (CKD) for the past several months. With both of his parents suffering from risk factors for CKD (high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes), this initiative hits close to home for Weapon X.
As the Hall of Famer ages, he’s being proactive with both his own health and his loved ones’ health by getting two simple tests for CKD.
“It Takes 2 means,” Dawkins explained to Windy City Gridiron. “It takes you and your doctor. It takes two tests — a blood test and a urine test — and those tests can see if you’re heading down the path of developing kidney disease or cardiovascular risks, as well. Once, when I found this information out, I got it to my parents, to their caregivers, so that they can make sure that they’re okay. Now I’m blessed with the opportunity, with the platform that I have to then talk about sports, yes, but to also mention things that are extremely important to a great group of the population of America.”
Through his work with the It Takes 2 campaign, Dawkins had the chance to participate in the 2025 Rose Parade in Pasadena.
“It was for real,” Dawkins elaborated on his experience at the parade. “Because obviously, having watched in the past back in the day with the floats and all those things coming down, just enough to be a part of it [was great]. I didn’t realize it was as big as it was...for me to be a part of that, once again, with the It Takes 2 campaign was..I’ll put this way: it’s not something that I dreamed would happen to me, I’ll just say it like that. It was a blessing.”
As the 2025 NFL Draft draws near, Dawkins has a unique perspective on the event. Not only was he selected as a second-round pick by the Eagles in 1996, but he also spent two drafts as Philadelphia’s Football Operations Executive after his playing days were done. He provided some insight into what the process looks like the week of the NFL Draft.
“Everything is set [the week before the draft],” Dawkins said. “They have their board set. They have every position lined up. They have every ranking of positions they have. They’ve gone through the scenarios of what possibly could happen, and who they could possibly have better chance of getting. Especially with analytics today, there’s so many different even more...
