At No. 2 on my list is one of the toughest and most accomplished defensive players in NFL history.
Ronnie Lott wasn’t just a great safety.
He was a tone-setter.
Lott could cover, create turnovers and play multiple positions across the secondary, but what separated him was the physicality and intensity he brought every single Sunday.
For more than a decade, Lott made life miserable for opposing offenses.
And while he became synonymous with the safety position, his career actually began somewhere else.
Starting at Cornerback
The San Francisco 49ers selected Lott with the eighth overall pick in the 1981 NFL Draft out of USC.
He immediately made an impact.
Lott began his NFL career at cornerback and intercepted seven passes as a rookie, returning three of them for touchdowns.
He earned First-Team All-Pro honors in his very first season and helped transform a San Francisco team that had gone 6–10 the year before.
The 49ers finished 13–3.
Then they won the Super Bowl.
Lott had arrived in the NFL and become a champion immediately.
From Cornerback to Safety
One of the things that makes Lott’s career so impressive is his versatility.
He didn’t become an all-time great by playing only one position.
Lott spent the early portion of his career at cornerback before eventually transitioning to safety, where he became even more synonymous with greatness.
Whether he lined up at cornerback, free safety or strong safety, the result was largely the same.
Lott made plays.
His combination of coverage ability, intelligence and physicality allowed San Francisco to move him throughout the secondary without sacrificing his impact.
Very few defensive backs in NFL history have been able to play multiple positions at such a high level.
Lott did it while becoming one of the faces of a dynasty.
The Backbone of a Dynasty
The 1980s belonged to the San Francisco 49ers.
Joe Montana and the West Coast offense received much of the attention, but San Francisco’s defense had its own superstar.
Lott.
The 49ers won four Super Bowls during Lott’s tenure with the franchise.
He won championships following the 1981, 1984, 1988 and 1989 seasons, helping San Francisco become the NFL’s defining dynasty of the decade.
Lott wasn’t simply along for the ride.
He was one of the most important players on those teams.
During San Francisco’s dominant 1984 season, Lott earned another First-Team All-Pro selection as the 49ers finished 15–1 and defeated the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl XIX.
Then came perhaps the greatest individual season of his career.
Nine Interceptions in 1986
By 1986, Lott had transitioned fully to free safety.
He responded with one of the best seasons of his career.
Lott intercepted an NFL-leading nine passes despite playing only 14 games.
He returned those interceptions for 100 yards and earned another First-Team All-Pro selection.
It showed exactly why moving Lott to safety worked so well.
He still possessed the coverage skills he had developed as a cornerback, but playing deeper allowed him to read quarterbacks, patrol larger areas of the field and attack the football.
And when a receiver actually caught the ball?
They still had to deal with Ronnie Lott.
The Definition of Physical Football
Lott became famous for the violence and intensity with which he played.
Receivers entering his area of the field knew there could be consequences.
Running backs weren’t safe either.
Lott attacked ball carriers with the mentality of a linebacker while possessing the coverage ability of a defensive back.
His toughness became legendary.
The most famous example came during the 1985 season when Lott badly injured his left pinkie finger.
Rather than undergo a procedure that would have required a lengthy recovery and potentially affected his preparation for the following season, part of the finger was amputated.
It has become one of the most famous stories of toughness in NFL history.
But Lott’s greatness shouldn’t be reduced to one story.
He wasn’t great because he was tough.
He was great because that toughness came alongside elite football ability.
Production and Longevity
Lott remained a high-level defensive back long after San Francisco’s dynasty had been established.
After leaving the 49ers, he played for the Los Angeles Raiders and New York Jets, continuing to produce into his 30s.
In his first season with the Raiders in 1991, Lott led the NFL with eight interceptions and earned another Pro Bowl selection.
Ten years after entering the league, he was still one of football’s premier defensive backs.
Lott eventually finished his career with 63 interceptions, returning five for touchdowns.
He also recovered 17 fumbles and recorded more than 1,100 tackles.
He could take the football away.
He could tackle.
He could cover.
And he could completely change the physical tone of a game.
One of the Greatest Defensive Backs Ever
Lott retired after 14 NFL seasons.
His final résumé includes:
4× Super Bowl Champion
10× Pro Bowl Selection
6× First-Team All-Pro
63 Career Interceptions
5 Interception Return Touchdowns
NFL 1980s All-Decade Team
NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team
NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team
Pro Football Hall of Famer
Lott was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000, his first year of eligibility.
His legacy goes beyond being one of the greatest safeties ever.
He’s one of the greatest defensive backs ever.
He became an All-Pro cornerback.
He became an All-Pro safety.
He helped anchor one of the greatest dynasties in NFL history.
And he maintained an elite level of play for more than a decade.
Ronnie Lott has almost everything you could possibly want from the greatest safety ever.
Almost.
There is one player I have ahead of him.
Ronnie Lott is #2 on the Ethical Sports Takes Top 5 Safeties of All Time.
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