Tag: Minkah Fitzpatrick

PFF’s safety rankings: Does Derwin James crack the top five?

Derwin James is coming off a down year, but he is still one of the best to play the position.

Derwin James has proven to be one of the best to play the safety position. But where does he stack up among his peers?

Pro Football Focus released their safety rankings and recognized James as the No. 7 player at his position.

While the talent is obviously there, James couldn’t put it all together last season, which prevents him from being mentioned here in the top tier of safeties.

The Chargers safety topped 1,000 snaps for the first time since 2018 despite missing one game. But while he ranked third among safeties in PFF overall grade (90.4) between 2018 and 2022, his 60.1 grade in 2023 was good for just 71st at the position.

James finished the 2023 season with 125 tackles, seven passes defensed, two sacks and one interception across 16 games.

James made his most appearances since his 2018 rookie campaign, but he wasn’t quite the same playmaker as he had in seasons prior when he earned back-to-back Pro Bowl nods.

Despite the down year, James is still a dynamic player with the ability to cover, play the run and blitz. Rather than moving him all over the field, Jesse Minter plans to put him in positions to best utilize his skills in hopes of getting him back on track.

NFL Network calls new Steelers safety most underappreciated player on the team

The Steelers quitely added safety DeShon Elliott in free agency.

When it comes to the Pittsburgh Steelers, there are a handful of guys on either side of the football who get all the praise heaped on them. Defensively, we hear about T.J. Watt, Cam Heyward, Patrick Queen, Joey Porter Jr. and Minkah Fitzpatrick all the time. But who is the most underappreciated guy on the Steelers defense?

NFL Network named the most underappreciated player on every roster and for the Steelers he went with new safety DeShon Elliott. Here’s what he had to say about Elliott:

Now on a fourth team in Year 7 of his professional career, Elliott’s vagabond existence might lead some to question his reliability, but that’d be a mistake. While injuries did impact multiple seasons at Elliott’s first NFL stop in Baltimore, whenever the man played for the Ravens, he proved dependable. And over the past two seasons, he capably started 13 games for the Lions and 15 games for the Dolphins, providing the kind of rock-solid returns at defensive back that should never be overlooked in today’s pass-happy league. Elliott’s ability to seamlessly transition between teams and schemes is a testament to his versatility. Boasting ample experience as a free safety, strong safety and nickelback…

Elliott was definitely an underrated addition in a very bus[lawrence-auto-related count=3]y offseason. His health will be the most important factor for his ability to impact the defense this season. This is even assuming Elliott can beat out incumbent Damontae Kazee for the starting spot at strong safety.

 

USC offers 2026 five-star cornerback Justice Fitzpatrick

USC is making a run at the younger brother of established NFL player Minkah Fitzpatrick.

St. Thomas Aquinas High School cornerback Justice Fitzpatrick from Fort Lauderdale (Florida) has received an offer from USC this week. The Trojans continue to make strong recruiting forays into the Deep South with an eye toward their future. Justice is the younger brother of former Alabama All-American and Pittsburgh Steelers starting safety Minkah Fitzpatrick.

He is projected to be cornerback but can also play elite level at the free safety position as well. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound defensive back is rated the No. 4 cornerback in the 2026 class, the No. 5 player in the state of Florida, and the No. 39 overall player regardless of position.

Fitzpatrick had an impressive sophomore season with 13 tackles, 2 interceptions and 3 deflections in 6 games.

So far Fitzpatrick has offers from USC, Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Colorado, Duke, Florida State, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisville, Miami, Ohio State, Ole Miss, Oregon, Syracuse, Temple, Texas A&M, UCF, and West Virginia. Doug Belk would love to be able to develop him in a future USC secondary.

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Browns safety defends Steelers’ Minkah Fitzpatrick over season-ending Nick Chubb injury

Nick Chubb’s teammates have come to the defense of Pittsburgh Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick.

Cleveland Browns Nick Chubb is six months removed from a devastating knee injury that sidelined him for the 2023 season and required two surgeries.

Pittsburgh Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick was in on the tackle and calls of “dirty player” erupted from media and fans in the days and weeks after.

Browns defensive end Myles Garrett defended Fitzpatrick the week following the injury and, most recently, safety D’Anthony Bell did the same.

“I don’t think it was a dirty hit ’cause I don’t think he intentionally tried to do that,” Bell said on the My Dawgs Podcast. “A lot of people like fans; they ain’t never been in the position where you are in full pads trying to tackle Nick Chubb. You ain’t never been in that position, going through the hole, and you see Nick Chubb right in front of you. That’s not an easy thing to execute. I think he was just trying to make a tackle on Chubb and it ended up happening.”

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Steelers open to bringing back CB Patrick Peterson

Mike Tomlin said the team could bring Patrick Peterson back at some point.

One of the big offseason moves the Pittsburgh Steelers made was the release of veteran cornerback Patrick Peterson to help save the team money. When it first happened, we speculated that Peterson would be a prime candidate to return to the team at a later date and on a more cap-friendly deal.

On Sunday, head coach Mike Tomlin addressed the media about the offseason while attending the NFL Annual Meeting in Orlando and basically said the same thing.

Tomlin said the team was open to bringing Peterson back at a later date. Peterson’s best days as a shutdown cornerback may be behind him but when the team moved him to safety last season to cover injuries, he played well.

Pittsburgh signed safety DeShon Elliott as a free agent and should start next to Minkah Fitzpatrick but bringing Peterson back would give the Steelers a great three-man safety rotation.

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Steelers 2024 offseason roster – Safeties

Here is a look at the Steelers current group of safeties.

Last season the safety position was a nightmare for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Much like inside linebacker, the Steelers were hit hard with losses at safety which often forced some unusual pairings in the secondary.  Here is a look at the safeties on the roster heading into free agency.

Patrick Peterson wants to finish career with Steelers

The Steelers could move Patrick Peterson to safety full time in 2024.

The Pittsburgh Steelers plan to replace cornerback Cameron Sutton with Patrick Peterson didn’t quite go according to plan last season. The addition of Patrick Peterson didn’t give the Steelers the lockdown cornerback they hoped for but thankfully the emergence of Joey Porter Jr. really helped.

But not the Steelers are faced with an interesting personnel choice. Peterson will turn 34 before the start of the season and has a cap hit of $9.775 million this season. Pittsburgh hasn’t given any indication about Peterson’s future but the future Hall of Famer wants to stay.

“The question is if the Steelers want me to finish with them,” Peterson said during his podcast. “I signed a two-year deal for a reason.”

The simplest solution might be to move Peterson to safety. Injuries forced the move last season and he played well. A safety tandem of Peterson and Minkah Fitzpatrick doesn’t sound like such a bad idea if the Steelers address cornerback via free agency or the draft.

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Steelers S Minkah Fitzpatrick given Bart Starr Award for character and leadership

Minkah Fitzpatrick is one of the true leaders in the NFL.

No player in the NFL epitomizes professionalism and leadership like Pittsburgh Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. This mentality was awarded on Saturday at the annual Super Bowl breakfast when Fitzpatrick was given the Bart Starr Award.

Here is how the award was described by co-chairman of the Breakfast and former NFL head coach Tony Dungy.

“The award is given every year to an NFL player, and that player is selected by his peers, by the rest of the players in the NFL. And it’s not for accolades on the field, it’s the best representation of character and leadership, first in the home, then on the field and in the community.”

Fitzpatrick, forever showing humility was honored to win the award.

‘I’m honored to win this award,” Fitzpatrick said. “It surprised me that I won this award because there was a lot that I learned about myself, that I need to continue to grow, continue to develop.”

During the 2023 season, when things were unraveling on the team, Fitzpatrick was the voice we heard the loudest saying all the right things and doing his best to keep the team focused and on track. Fitzpatrick’s 2023 season not up to his standards due to circumstances out of his control but he is the last player you will ever hear complain.

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Steelers final 2024 stats – Defense

Here is how the Steelers top defenders finished statistically.

Defensively, the Pittsburgh Steelers were an inconsistent, banged-up group in 2023. The unit as a whole endured so many injuries and still figured out a way to be sixth in the NFL in scoring, which is to be applauded. Here is how the player stats broke down for the top defenders from last season.

Oklahoma offers one of nation’s top 2026 defensive backs in Justice Fitzpatrick

Oklahoma offered five-star 2026 prospect Justice Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick is the younger brother of NFL star Minkah Fitzpatrick.

Oklahoma has been on an offer spree in January, and it’s very apparent the Sooners are attempting to build their recruiting board for 2025 while also starting to piece together their board for the 2026 class.

While the class of 2025 is the next up, relationships start years before they become seniors, which rings true as the Sooners’ offer 2026 five-star defensive back Justice Fitzpatrick.

Fitzpatrick is already a composite five-star across the primary recruiting services and is ranked in the top 30 on most recruiting websites.

He stands six feet tall now and showcases a level of feel and understanding for football beyond his years. He’s played both cornerback and safety in his two years at the high school level. He is also a track participant and is the brother of one of the best defensive backs in the NFL, Minkah Fitzpatrick.

He is already a state title winner at St. Thomas Aquinas, one of the most well-known football programs in the country. Alabama, his brother’s alma mater, has yet to offer, but some heavy hitters, including Oklahoma, have entered the pursuit for the talented and versatile defensive back.

Justice Fitzpatrick’s Recruiting Profile

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