The Steelers found themselves a gem in Minkah Fitzpatrick. Here’s why the former first-round pick was voted the most valuable safety in the league in a recent poll.
Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick is drawing an immense amount of buzz this season, and for good reason. After being selected by the Dolphins with the 11th overall pick in 2018, Fitzpatrick was eventually traded to Pittsburgh during his second season. It was here that he has started to emerge as one of the most valuable safeties in the league.
With a plethora of great, young talent at the safety position in the NFL right now, I decided to take a poll to see which safety fans would choose to take for the remainder of his career. Here are the results:
Which #NFL safety would you take for the remainder of his career?
— Tommy Jaggi (@TommyJaggi) November 11, 2019
In an overwhelming majority vote consisting of 682 total voters, 65 percent of fans say they would choose Minkah Fitzpatrick over all other safeties for the remainder of his career.
This is a somewhat surprising majority. Though he is having an incredible season, Jamal Adams is considered by many to be the best safety in the league. While he doesn’t create turnovers at the same rate as Fitzpatrick, he is sound in coverage and excellent against the run. Adams, however, came in second place in the poll with just 22 percent of the votes.
Likewise, Derwin James – who is missing the 2019 season after being placed on IR – had a miraculous rookie season where he recorded 105 tackles, 3 interceptions, and 13 pass defenses en route to All-Pro honors in his first year in the league. Still, he collected just 13 percent of the 682 votes.
Marcus Williams was not a close 4th place – earning zero percent of the votes. There are other good safeties out there as well. Justin Simmons, Earl Thomas, and Kevin Byard are all names I considered for the ballot. However, I elected to go with younger up-and-coming talent.
Keep in mind that a majority of my follows are Steelers fans and may have a bias towards a player from their own team. There is also the possibility that fans are getting caught up with the splash plays that Fitzpatrick has made this season, and are ignoring the accomplishments of the other safeties listed.
No matter the reason, it’s tough to argue against Minkah Fitzpatrick being the most valuable safety in the NFL at this point. Not yet 23-years old, Fitzpatrick is already one of the best playmaking defenders in the NFL. The sky is the limit for his potential, and the general public agrees.