Rodney Harrison came out of Western Illinois as a fifth-round pick in 1994 and spent his rookie year mostly on special teams while the Chargers made their Super Bowl run. By his third season, he had locked down the starting strong-safety job, and from there the hits started landing with a little more force than the rulebook preferred. At 6-foot-1 and around 220 pounds, he played the position like a linebacker who had wandered into the secondary—blitzing, filling alleys, and finishing tackles in a way that made receivers think twice about cutting across the middle. He picked up the nickname “The Hitman,” and while he would later insist he was just a passionate, old-school player, the fines and the “dirtiest player” votes that followed suggested opponents saw it a bit differently.

Once he was a full-time starter, the production came in bunches. From 1996 through 1998, he piled up well over 100 tackles a season, and in 1998 he earned First-Team All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors with 114 tackles, three interceptions, and four sacks. After missing most of 1999 with an injury, he bounced back with more 100-plus tackle seasons, including a career-high 127 tackles and six interceptions in 2000, then made the Pro Bowl again in 2001. Teammates voted him the Chargers’ Defensive Player of the Year four times during his run in San Diego. He was the rare safety who could cover deep, come downhill and stuff the run, and still generate pressure when the defense dialed up a blitz—21.5 of his career sacks came while he wore the lightning bolt.

The Chargers released him after the 2002 season. In nine years with the franchise, he finished with 26 interceptions, 21.5 sacks, and 760 combined tackles, numbers that still rank among the best for a safety in team history.

He later found a home in New England, added a couple of Super Bowl rings, and in 2025 the Chargers inducted him into their Hall of Fame, finally giving the hard-hitting safety the franchise recognition that matched the reputation he built during those nine seasons in San Diego.