Tag: Minkah Fitzpatrick

Ranking the top Bama v. Bama NFL match ups for 2020

the Alabama Crimson Tide has former players all across the NFL, in 2020 matchups put Alabama alum of the same position head to head.

Nine former members of the Crimson Tide were selected in the 2020 NFL draft and will soon begin their journey as a professional athlete, countless other Alabama products are simply getting ready for another season in the NFL.

It’s always interesting to compare players of the same position that are products of a common collegiate program. The NFL gives us an opportunity to see some of these players face off head-to-head and determine which player is undisputedly better.

At the end of the day, the players are forever linked through their time spent at Alabama, so it’s all business, nothing personal.

Let’s take a look at some of the top matchups where we will see former members of the Crimson Tide face off.

4. Week 2: Atlanta Falcons vs. Dallas Cowboys

Harrison Barden-USA TODAY Sports

Amari Cooper vs. Julio Jones & Calvin Ridley

Amari Cooper under a new contract in Dallas will face off against an Atlanta wide receiver corps headlined by two former Alabama stars, Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley.

Cooper is the No. 1 target for Cowboy’s quarterback Dak Prescott and will look to prove that he is worthy of his $100 million deal.

Jones is a veteran with a chip on his shoulder. Despite numerous rumors that Jones could be traded from the Falcons, he remains on the roster and has to battle to retain his elite status in the league.

Ridley enters his third season in the NFL and has proven to be a consistent receiver that can contribute to the Falcons offense. However, with Jones getting older and Ridley likely to take the reigns, he will have to step up and show the league that he can be the lead receiver for Matt Ryan and Atlanta.

This game won’t hold too much significance as far as all the aforementioned circumstances pertaining to each player, but will definitely be a fun game to keep an eye on with three former Alabama players that carry league-wide relevance.

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Steelers S Minkah Fitzpatrick lands on Top 25 under 25 list

The Steelers have some of the best young talents in the NFL.

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Last season, when things looked dire for the Pittsburgh Steelers, the front office didn’t blink. Even minus the team’s franchise quarterback, the Steelers pressed on. This included a huge in-season trade to bring safety Minkah Fitzpatrick to the Steelers from the Miami Dolphins.

From the third game going forward, the Steelers defense had a resurgence, led by the playmaking of Fitzpatrick. He became an All-Pro in just his second season. His tremendous effort while only being 23 years old earned him a spot on the Pro Football Focus’ Top 25 under 25 list.

Here’s what they had to say about Fitzpatrick at No. 18.

The Steelers didn’t have a first-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, but that’s because they spent it on a 23-year-old safety whose 84.4 overall grade ranked sixth at the position after landing in Pittsburgh prior to Week 3. You don’t want to make too many conclusions based on two-week sample sizes, but it’s hard not to see the kind of effect Fitzpatrick had on the Pittsburgh defense from his free safety position after joining the team. Over the first two weeks of the season, the Steelers allowed 155 passing yards on throws 20 or more yards downfield (t-11th most). That number was just 376 over the remaining 14 games (second lowest).

There’s no denying the impact Fitzpatrick had on the Steelers defense. There was a distinct dip in splash plays later in the season but this can be attributed to offenses avoiding him on the back end and it only allowed other Steelers to rack up big plays.

In other Steelers-related news on the list, wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster checked in at No. 25 despite a down season.

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Dolphins draft OT Austin Jackson, Steelers still win the trade

Pittsburgh just officially won the Minkah Fitzpatrick trade.

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On Thursday night, the Miami Dolphins selected USC offensive tackle Austin Jackson with the No. 18 overall pick. Jackson is a solid offensive tackle, still a step behind the four offensive tackles taken ahead of him Why does this matter to the Pittsburgh Steelers?

Because this was the pick the Steelers traded to the Dolphins last season for safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. In fairness, the Dolphins also got a fifth and sixth-round pick in the deal. However, based on what happened on Thursday night, it is simply more proof Pittsburgh won this trade.

Fitzpatrick came over to the Steelers after the second game of the season. All he did was turn into an All-Pro and completely change the dynamic of the Steelers defense as they became one of the elite units in the league.

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Breaking down the Tide’s 29 first-round NFL picks: Minkah Fitzpatrick

This time, we will be focusing on another former Alabama football star, Minkah Fitzpatrick.

Since Nick Saban’s arrival to Tuscaloosa in 2007, Alabama has not only become a team that has created a dynasty winning national championships, but it also has become a program that sends players to the NFL every year.

With the 2020 NFL Draft happening in less than a month, it’s the perfect time to start a new series in which we will go over all of the Tide’s 29 first-round draft picks. The first player we went over was Andre Smith, who finished his career at Alabama with 15 awards and honors and was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals as the No. 6 pick in the 2009 NFL Draft. The second player we went over was former Alabama star linebacker Rolando McClain who would not only win many incredible awards while at Alabama, but was drafted by Oakland Raiders as the No. 8 pick in the 2010 NFL Draft. The 3rd Alabama player drafted in the first round for the Tide was Kareem Jackson who would go on to be drafted by the Houston Texans as the No. 20 overall pick in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft. The 4th player to become drafted under Nick Saban was Marcell Dareus. Number 5 was Julio Jones who has spent his entire career in Atlanta after being the 6th overall pick in the 2011 Draft by the Falcons. The 6th first round draft pick under Nick Saban was James Carpenter who was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks with the 25th overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft. At number 7 we have former Alabama running back Mark Ingram who was drafted by the New Orleans Saints with the 28th overall pick of the 2011 NFL Draft. The 8th player drafted by the Tide was Trent Richardson who was the No. 3 overall pick of the 2012 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns. Mark Barron was the 9th player drafted for Alabama in the NFL Draft. He was was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the 7th overall pick of the 2012 NFL Draft. The 10th player drafted for the Tide was Dre Kirkpatrick who was drafted as the No. 17 overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals. At No. 11, we have Dont’a Hightower who was drafted as the No. 25 overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots. Dee Milliner was the 12th Alabama player drafted in the NFL. He was the No. 9 overall pick in the 2013 NFL Draft by the New York Jets. The 13th Alabama football player drafted in the first round was Chance Warmack who was selected in the first round as the 10th overall pick by the Tennessee Titans in the 2013 NFL Draft. DJ Fluker was the 14th player drafted as the No. 11 overall pick of the 2013 NFL Draft. The 15th first round pick for Alabama under Nick Saban was CJ Mosley who was drafted as the 17th overall pick by the Baltimore Ravens of the 2014 NFL Draft. Ha Ha Clinton- Dix was the 16th Alabama player drafted as the 21st overall pick in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft. Amari Cooper was drafted by the Oakland Raiders as the No. 4 overall pick of the 2015 NFL Draft and was the 17th first round pick under Nick Saban. The 18th first round pick under Nick Saban was Ryan Kelly who was the 18th overall pick of the 2016 NFL Draft where has played at since 2016. Jonathan Allen was the 19th first round pick under Nick Saban who was selected Allen as the 17th overall of the 2017 NFL Draft where he has played since 2017. The 18th first round pick under Nick Saban was Reuben Foster who was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers as the 31st overall pick of the 2017 NFL Draft.

This time, we will be focusing on another former Alabama football star, Minkah Fitzpatrick.

As a true freshman in 2015, Fitzpatrick started 10 of 14 games at free safety, recording 45 tackles (3 for loss), 2 sacks, 2 interceptions for a TD, 11 pass breakups, 1 QB hurry, and 1 punt return for a TD.

As a sophomore in 2016, he had 66 tackles, 1.5 sacks,  6 interceptions for 2 TDs, and 7 pass breakups. He also broke the Alabama all-time record for career interceptions returned for a touchdown as a sophomore.

In his junior season, he recorded 60 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 1 interception, 1 forced fumble, and 7 passes defensed.

Not only was a he a two time national champion (2015 and 2017) he also won the Chuck Bednarik Award and the Jim Thorpe Award in 2017.

Fitzpatrick went on to be drafted by the Miami Dolphins as the 11th overall pick of the 2018 NFL Draft where he played from 2018-2019.

For the Dolphins, he recorded 92 tackles, 9 broken up passes, 2 interceptions, 1 forced fumble and 1 TD.

In 2019, the Dolphins traded Fitzpatrick to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Last season, he had 57 tackles, 5 interceptions, 9 broken up passes, 1 forced fumble and 1 interception.

Minkah Fitzpatrick
Photo Credit: Philip G. Pavely-USA TODAY Sports

Ben Roethlisberger: ‘This is not how I’m going out’

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger explained what it was like for him to sit out in 2019.

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger appeared on The Sirius XM Blitz Thursday with Bruce Murray and former teammate, Bruce Gradkowski.

Roethlisberger explained what it was like for him to sit out in 2019.

“It was tough on the sidelines last year. All of us are competitors, right? We all want to be out there. It’s what we love to do. As a quarterback, you feel like, ‘That’s my team out there and I want to be out there leading my guys. I want to help them and do everything I can, to go through the battle with them.’ And when you can’t do that, it’s so hard and it just tugs at you.”

“It put a little fire into me — this is not the end for me. This is not how I’m going out. I’m going to bust my butt to just give myself a chance to come back and try to be better than ever. I know that sounds kinda crazy; as you get older in life to get better. Your physical attributes might fall off, you might not be as fast or as big or whatever. But you still can be as sharp because you can be mentally sharp and maybe hone your skills differently.”

“I’ve been doing it for a long time, but I still feel like I’ve got gas in the tank and I’m excited.”

While it was difficult for Roethlisberger to watch helplessly from the sidelines, he was thrilled with what he saw from the defense.

“That whole defense was so much fun to watch,” Roethlisberger said. “Guys just stepping up; taking their game to another level. Man, it was fun watching those edge rushers come off the edge. It reminded me of [James] Harrison and [LaMarr] Woodley. It was neat to see in the backend seeing Minkah [Fitzpatrick] and T [Terrell Edmunds] and all those guys.”

Roethlisberger went on to say how the Steelers defense will be such an integral part of their championship run this season.

If the defense plays like it did in 2019 and Roethlisberger doesn’t suffer a setback, there’s no reason why they can’t be in the mix.

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Steelers’ Minkah Fitzpatrick talks goals on ESPN’s ‘First Take’

Pittsburgh Steelers’ safety Minkah Fitzpatrick opens up about Ben Roethlisberger, the offseason, Tom Brady, and his goals for 2020.

Pittsburgh Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick has his sights set on the Defensive Player of the Year award. When Fitzpatrick first came to Pittsburgh, he was making an excellent case for himself. With five interceptions in his first seven weeks in the black and gold, DPOY talk was legitimate.

 

“Every single year, I want to top what I did the past year,” said Fitzpatrick on ESPN’s “First Take“. “I think I grew a whole lot from my first year to my second year. Now I’m just going to continue to try to grow from my second year to my third year.”

Besides winning DPOY, his personal goals are to repeat All-Pro and the Pro Bowl and lead defensive backs in “at least” three or four categories.

Fitzpatrick’s overall stats fell off the second half of the season as offenses got wise and stopped throwing in his direction. The safety feels that the Steelers will have a different defensive system this season which will provide him the opportunity to make more plays on a consistent basis.

This is music to the ears of Steelers fans, as it’s always a rush to watch Fitzpatrick make explosive plays. His arrival in Week 3 added a much-needed spark to the defense that had allowed 640 yards passing in the first two weeks of the season.

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2020 NFL draft: QB Jalen Hurts NFL draft profile

Steelers Wire draft profile featuring QB Jalen Hurts (Oklahoma Sooners).

Quarterback Jalen Hurts was 26-2 as a starter and led the Crimson Tide to the national championship game in his first two seasons at Alabama.

During the second half of the 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship game versus Georgia, a struggling Hurts was replaced by QB Tua Tagovailoa and, ultimately, lost the starting job. After being relegated to backup and playing sparingly throughout the following season, Hurts saved the day in the SEC Championship Game when he replaced an injured Tagovailoa. He scored two touchdowns (one passing, one running) and led the Crimson Tide to a fourth-quarter comeback win.

In 2019, Hurts transferred to the University of Oklahoma and enjoyed a stellar first and final season as a Sooner. The dual-threat QB threw for 3,851 yards, 32 touchdowns, eight interceptions, and ran for 1,298 yards and 20 touchdowns.

In four seasons, Hurts had an astounding 12,721 all-purpose yards. He also scored 80 passing TDs (20 interceptions) and 43 rushing TDs.

Jalen Hurts | QB| University of Oklahoma

Height | 6-2

Weight | 218

Class | Senior

College Bio

Career Stats

A common question this time of year is one that’s asked about Hurts: Will his skills from the collegiate level translate to the pros? With doubts about his readiness, the QB would be best fit for a team that already has a veteran QB. Hurts’ main knocks – accuracy and mechanics – can be polished as an apprentice.

The Pittsburgh Steelers traded away their first-round pick last season for safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, so the team’s first selection won’t happen until day two. The QB position doesn’t seem to be a No. 49 kind of concern for the organization, but if Hurts falls in the draft, he would be a steal at their third-round compensatory pick (102).

 

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Steelers S Minkah Fitzpatrick keeping No. 39

If you bought a Minkah Fitzpatrick jersey last year, you are in luck.

While playing at the University of Alabama, safety Minkah Fitzpatrick wore No. 29. Same for when he was with the Miami Dolphins. But when the Steelers traded for Fitzpatrick last season, the number was already taken. So Fitzpatrick opted for No. 39.

And thankfully for all those Steelers fans who bought jerseys, Fitzpatrick announced on Monday he’s planning to keep the number for the upcoming season.

As of now there is no one on the roster with that jersey number but thankfully Fitzpatrick is sticking with No. 39. Fitzpatrick was huge for the Steelers after coming over to Pittsburgh for their 2020 first-round pick. The entire defense saw a turnaround with Fitzpatrick in the lineup. He finished 2019 with five interceptions and two fumble recoveries in 14 games and was named an All Pro.

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New Draft Wire mock draft proves how smart Steelers trade was last season

The Steelers clearly won the Minkah Fitzpatrick trade.

There was a point last season after the Pittsburgh Steelers traded their 2020 first-round pick for safety Minkah Fitzpatrick where there was some question as to who actually won the trade. But as the season went on and the Steelers started to win thanks to the play of Fitzpatrick, those criticisms died out almost completely.

Now, as we go over the new one-round mock draft by our friends at Draft Wire it makes it even more clear just how much the Steelers won this trade with the Miami Dolphins.

In this mock, the Dolphins drafted Houston offensive tackle Josh Jones with the No. 18 overall pick. Jones is a solid player but he would be the fifth offensive tackle off the board. Fitzpatrick was an All-Pro last season in his second NFL season.

Even looking at the next handful of picks after Jones, you just don’t see anyone who brings the type of potential Fitzpatrick has already surpassed. The next safety off the board is Alabama’s Xavier McKinney who is nowhere near the player Fitzpatrick is.

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Former Dolphin Minkah Fitzpatrick can’t seem to make up his mind

After Minkah Fitzpatrick was traded because he didn’t like Miami’s role, the former Dolphin is complaining about his role in Pittsburgh.

This past summer, former Miami Dolphins safety Minkah Fitzpatrick experienced a strange change of heart. A player that was well known for his versatility for his entire college career suddenly didn’t want to be versatile anymore — as Fitzpatrick (and his mother) aired grievances that the Dolphins were misusing him by rolling him into the box to play run defense and man to man coverage against tight ends.

The issues became so bad that Fitzpatrick, after Miami started the season 0-2 and was blown out of their first two contests, was traded (by his request) to the Pittsburgh Steelers for a 1st-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Fitzpatrick would go on to make the Pro Bowl for the first time in his young NFL career — but experienced a significant drop off in production over the second half of the season. Why? Because the Steelers were committed to playing Fitzpatrick as their free safety in the middle of the field instead of using his versatility to move him around and keep him active in the game plan each week.

But hey, that’s what Fitzpatrick wanted, right?

Well, apparently not. Fitzpatrick has, first with The Athletic and now with ESPN’s Brooke Pryor, started a public campaign this offseason to air his complaints that the Steelers didn’t move him around enough to keep him engaged in the game plan. 

“I don’t want to see that drop-off,” said Fitzpatrick, via Brooke Pryor of ESPN.com. “You know what I’m saying? I wanted to continue to have that impact on my team and have that impact on games. Because it’s no fun when you’re in a critical moment and you can’t do nothing about it. When you move around and you’re a moving piece on the chessboard, it’s hard to defend and you can’t just say, ‘All right, the quarterback is going to look at me and say he’s going to be in this spot every snap,’ like I was last year. It’s going to be harder and it’s going to be more difficult to take me out of the game.”

That’s a very stark difference to the soundbite Fitzpatrick provided in late October when these two teams were set to face off against one another.

“I am comfortable on the field. (The Steelers) just allowed me to play fast and do what I do,” said Fitzpatrick. “That is the thing I like about here — we run what we run, and we run it well. We don’t try to do too much, don’t try to change it up week to week.”

So now, magically, 14 games after living the life he complained he didn’t have in Miami, Fitzpatrick wants to return to a versatile role because the Steelers couldn’t keep him around the football down the stretch?

That’s a whole lot of waffling for four months. Perhaps the more likely explanation is that Fitzpatrick saw the writing on the wall in Miami — that this season was going to be a bad one? And instead of buckling down, he wanted to go somewhere where he wouldn’t have to endure the misery Miami seemed destined for?  The irony here is that both the Dolphins and the Steelers finished the season 5-4 in their final 9 games. The only difference? Miami went 3-2 in December — while the Steelers stumbled and finished 2-3, missing the playoffs in the process.

So while Fitzpatrick can continue to casually throw his coaches under the bus, Miami can rest easy and know it actually wasn’t their fault that Fitzpatrick requested a trade back in September — he just feels he has to have his cake (production) and eat it (win), too.

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