Eric Allen is on the steps of Canton for the second time as a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2025.

"I get nervous and I still have a lot of respect for where I am right now and the rest of the guys on the list," he said last November, "but hopefully this is the year."

The defensive back joined the Raiders after seven seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles and three with the New Orleans Saints. He played in 58 regular season games (56 starts) in the Silver and Black, accumulating 15 interceptions with three returned for touchdowns. A six-time Pro Bowler and one-time All-Pro, Allen accumulated 54 interceptions over the course of his 14-year NFL career, the same number of career INTs as Pro Football Hall of Famer and Raiders' legend Willie Brown.

Read through for Allen's case for the Hall of Fame, as told by his former teammates.

Charles Woodson, former Raiders DB (1998-2005, 2013-15) and Pro Football Hall of Famer

"In my third year in Oakland, Eric intercepted six passes. Three of them were Pick-6s. He was 35 years old at the time. At that age, you might not have the speed or the natural skills that you had when you were 23-24 years old. But the great players gain knowledge and experience over the years and use that to their advantage later in their careers.

"Eric was a student of the game. For him to make those kinds of plays in his mid-30s, that shows you what a Hall of Famer looks like."

Tim Brown, former Raiders WR (1988-2003) and Pro Football Hall of Famer

"You can't do any more than Eric Allen did. Certainly, we all want to win 15 championships and all that kind of stuff, but it didn't happen that way. This guy has done everything on the football field from a personal standpoint and the Hall of Fame is not about how many times you won a championship. It's about what you personally did on the football field. If they really go by that, I think they will very quickly put this guy in the Hall of Fame this year."

Rich Gannon, former Raiders quarterback (1999-2004) and 2022 NFL MVP

"I went up against him in practice every day when we were teammates in Oakland. I watched him cover Tim Brown and Jerry Rice in practice. We had Eric on one side and Charles Woodson on the other. I have a pretty unique perspective on who he was and how good he was. He was the best I've ever played with or against at disguising his intentions. He would show you press when he was playing down. He would play off five yards, then come up and jam you.

"He did all of the little things right. He was a big part of that transformation in Oakland (in the late '90s and early 2000s). He got there in '98. They were terrible. In '99, we finished 8-8. But all of our losses were one-score losses. The next year, we were 12-4. He was a big part of that."

James Lofton, former Raiders wide receiver (1987-88) and Pro Football Hall of Famer

"When I went to the Eagles in 1993, I was there for 10 weeks, and I distinctly remember the first practice going one-on-one against Eric Allen. Matched up against him, I'd run a 17-yard comeback, he'd come out the break before I did. I'd run a 15-yard hook, he'd be out of the break before I was. I'd try and go deep, he was my shadow along with me.

"Great coverage skills indicative of the numbers that he put up during the course of his career and tough as nails. They didn't come any better that I saw."