8. Minkah Fitzpatrick, Pittsburgh Steelers
Now we are getting into even tougher territory to tread, with the players having such talent at this point in the list. If someone wanted to include Minkah Fitzpatrick as their top safety in the game, I could see the argument. Fitzpatrick is part of the next generation of safeties, players that can align all over the field and play three different roles on three consecutive downs. For example, in a piece on the safety from Doug Farrar it was highlighted that in 2018:
…[Fitzpatrick] played 23 snaps on the defensive line, 95 in the box, 166 at free safety, 281 at wide cornerback and 379 in the slot. The slot was where Fitzpatrick did his best work as a rookie last season; no other interior pass defender with at least 20% of his team’s snaps at that position allowed a lower opponent passer rating than Fitzpatrick’s 53.4. He allowed just 20 slot receptions on 39 targets for 200 yards, 111 yards after the catch, one touchdown and two interceptions.
But after his acquisition by the Pittsburgh Steelers, Fitzpatrick was used in more of a traditional single-high role. In that element, he shined last season. During his time with the Steelers last year, Fitzpatrick was targeted 16 times in coverage. On those targets he allowed eight receptions for 89 yards, no touchdowns and a career-high five interceptions. That translated to a passer rating allowed of just 27.3. And on a play such as this, you can see how he put up those numbers:
MINKAH FITZPATRICK PICK 6!
4 interceptions in his last 6 games👀#INDvsPIT
(Via @NFL)
pic.twitter.com/M6JT7UM4An— PFF (@PFF) November 3, 2019
Players like this make Top 100 lists…