Class of 2025: Eric Allen – Definition of a shutdown cornerback

By Barry Wilner
Special to the Pro Football Hall of Fame

If you are searching for a perfect example of a shutdown cornerback, simply look up Eric Allen.

He’s the guy who spent 14 NFL seasons frustrating receivers, quarterbacks and defensive coordinators. Allen was so dependable, so skilled and so competitive, he is that rare breed of defensive back who always – ALWAYS -- played on the corner.

On Saturday, Allen was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame after nearly two decades of eligibility.

“First, let me say that it's truly an honor to be present here, in the company of these (legends),” Allen said during his enshrinement speech at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. “Many of these remarkable men have impacted my life: Marcus Allen (whom Eric planned to emulate as a child), Ronnie Lott, Mike Haynes, Darrell Green, Reggie White. These men and this game have helped me to understand that you have to possess devotion, passion and an abundance of patience. And these invaluable lessons have prepared me for the most significant job and aspect of my life: being a dad to my four sons.”

Allen praised his boys: Austin, Hunter, Jordan and Noah. He pointed out his granddaughter, Presley, and her mom, Nicole, saying: “You are the sunshine in my life. You make Poppa’s life so much better because you are in it.”

Speaking about his roots in San Diego, he paid homage to his grandmother – even mentioning her “famous lemon pound cake,” – his mother, Alyce, and his older brother Craig, his first mentor and teacher. It was at Valencia Park in Pop Warner that Allen became enamored of football.

“My experience was amazing,” he said. “Those coaches demanded loyalty, commitment and dedication. They gave me the freedom to call my own plays.

“That love of the game and that brotherhood continued into high school. And though I played other sports, there was nothing that compared to `Friday Night Lights.’ Me and the homeboys just chilling after practices and dreaming big about the future.

“And my homeboys were there for me when my grandmother passed right before I got to high school. I needed that, and I appreciate you guys. Who thought we’d be standing here now, but we are.”

Recruited to Arizona State, where another future Hall of Famer, guard Randall McDaniel was a teammate, Allen and the Sun Devils won a Rose Bowl. 

Buddy Ryan, the renowned defensive mind and head coach of the Eagles, noticed, and Philadelphia drafted Allen in the second round in 1988. All Allen did was start every game as a rookie, and 214 of the 217 contests he played. He made six Pro Bowls, an All-Pro team in 1989 during an era loaded with standout cornerbacks, earned two second-team selections, and as a ballhawk made 54 interceptions in a career than ended in 2001. 

In 1993, he returned four picks for scores, nearly half of the nine for his career.

“It was an honor to wear those Kelly greens and represent the City of Brotherly Love,” Allen said. “Whether it was Bud Carson’s Gang Green or Buddy's Boys, the Brotherhood was strong. We dominated. You will always hold a special part in my life.

“I became a man during that time. I know my wife (Lynn Marie) was pretty excited by that.”

After seven superb seasons in Philadelphia, Allen went to New Orleans for three years. He played well on some struggling teams before Al Davis recruited him to the Raiders.

In Oakland, Allen’s career was revitalized. He remained a shutdown cornerback and grabbed 15 of his total interceptions in those four years. He also had three pick-sixes in 2000.

“In 1998, the Hall of Famer and iconic Al Davis and Jon Gruden convinced me that joining the Oakland Raiders would be a perfect culmination of my career,” Allen noted. “You were absolutely correct, and on that team, I was able to play with some tremendous players, including three other Hall of Famers: Charles Woodson, Jerry Rice and Timmy Brown.”

Oddly, the debut and culmination playoff games of Allen’s stellar career were downers. The Eagles fell in the infamous Fog Bowl at Chicago in the 1988 postseason, and 13 years later, the Raiders were beaten at New England in the Tuck Rule game.

But forget those bad vibes. Saturday was all about Canton.

“I am deeply grateful for this incredible honor,” Allen said. “We all share a deep love and respect for the game of football — a game that transcends time and place. Football incentivizes and rewards the relentless pursuit of excellence. 

“In short, it calls for everything you've got, and that's what I've tried to give it.”