Former NFL center Kevin Mawae knows exactly how good both Brian Urlacher and Ray Lewis were in their prime in the NFL.

With both linebackers up for the Hall of Fame Class of 2018, Mawae was recently asked about the former Chicago Bears linebacker and Baltimore Ravens linebacker and who he'd choose between the two if he had to.

“For me, it would be Urlacher,” Mawae told Talk of Fame Sports, via Clark Judge.

He continued:

“I played against both of the guys, and Ray was … the guy belongs in the Hall of Fame, no doubt about it,” he said. “But I’ve got to view it in the lens of how I played against guys … not as if I was in the coach … I’ve got to do it in how I played against them. To me, Ray was all over the place — an athletic guy, but he was not a downhill hitter. He’s not taking on offensive linemen. He was a jump-around guy.

“Brian Urlacher, sideline to sideline … could do it all … just like Ray. But he was more of a physical player in the box against offensive linemen, and that’s just the way I view it. Half-one dozen, half the other. Both of them are going to get in. You know what I’m saying?”

That's some pretty impressive praise from Mawae, who is also a finalist for the 2018 Hall of Fame class. He compared the athleticism of both but felt Urlacher was far more willing to get physical near the line of scrimmage, while Lewis' game was more about making the offensive player miss.

“Urlacher did all the stuff Ray did. But he played downhill on you. He’s going to come in and put his helmet on you and shed blocks," Mawae said. "I never felt that way about Ray. And whenever we played Ray, it was never like … ‘Oh, man I’ve gotta’ … I felt a bigger challenge for me was playing Zach Thomas than Ray Lewis. That’s just a personal view.

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Some feel Urlacher could have a hard time making it into the Hall of Fame this year because of Lewis, but if more have the line of thinking that Mawae does, the 2005 Defensive Player of the Year could be donning that yellow jacket later this summer.