by Bo Marchionte
Last year there was a backlash of negativity when the Steelers decided to acquire Minkah Fitzpatrick from the Miami Dolphins.
The trade would erase Pittsburgh’s first-round draft pick in 2020 and 2021 sixth-round pick. In addition to Fitzpatrick the Steelers would also receive a 2020 fourth-round pick and a 2021 seventh-round pick.
With Pittsburgh at 2-4 and zero availability from Ben Roethlisberger (on IR) the idea of surrendering a possible top-ten selection had many questioning the move by Kevin Colbert.
Personally, I saw it as acquiring a fantastic acquisition from the moment the news broke that the 11th overall pick out of Alabama in the 2018 NFL Draft would be playing his home games at Heinz Field.
Colbert simply robbed the Dolphins of this perennial all-pro talent.
Once again Colbert being the ‘Smooth Criminal’ when making some strategically calculated trades.
How about the Antonio Brown deal?
People thought he got swindled until you realized he would have taken a bag of empty peanut shells for him. Colbert knew firsthand the damaged goods he was selling to potential buyers.
Oakland (Las Vegas) was left with nothing but egg on their face.
Look at the king’s ransom the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks paid for disgruntled defensive stars in defensive back Jalen Ramsey and safety Jamal Adams. Both the Rams and Seahawks lost two first-round picks each in those deals, while Colbert was able to convince Miami that only one first-round selection would be adequate to seal the deal for Fitzpatrick.
Did I envision Fitzpatrick becoming the first safety in Steelers history to earn First-Team All-Pro in their first season with the team?
No.
Probably a good question to ask Colbert as well.
Troy Polamalu was the last safety to capture such esteemed accolades (2011) and it took him his third season to accomplish the feat. Pittsburgh has had four safeties achieve the leagues highest all-star status. Polamalu (4), Donnie Shell (3) and Carnell Lake (1) are the only others to receive such recognition with eight First-Team seasons combined.
Fitzpatrick proved the doubters wrong with his First-team All-Pro (2019) selection in only his second season in the National Football League. Pittsburgh has not had a player of his caliber in the secondary since the Polamalu patrolled the secondary with reckless abandon.
“Minkah [Fitzpatrick] has been here for a year now,” said Steelers defensive coordinator Keith Butler via a zoom interview due to COVID-19. “He’ll know the defense in and out.”
Obviously, we think he is a top tier guy in the League and if he could continue to get better, which we think he can, it should make us a little better.”
Even ‘a little better’ makes the Steelers defense downright scary in 2020.
Fitzpatrick was granted his wish of being jettison out of Miami after playing just 18 games for the Dolphins. In South Beach he was being asked to play safety, nickel cornerback, field maintenance and help keep the ice cold for the beer vendors at Hard Rock Stadium.
Maybe a few of those requests by the Dolphins were an exaggeration but you get the scope of positions being asked for the rookie to execute.
“I think he is a very smart young man,” said Butler. “Many of us are smart in different things and some things we are not. But he is very football savvy. He has been around for a little while. Of course, he went and played at Alabama. They did a good job with him down there. He came to play for us, and we tried to limit the amount that we put on him with in the first couple weeks we had him and then we realized he could handle a lot more than we were giving him at times.”
Butler feels that with a healthy unit intact for 2020 the upside could possibly be better than the results this stifling defense was able to accomplish last season. With a skeleton crew of offensive players, in 2019, it was the defense that kept the Steelers in the Wildcard hunt into the final week of the NFL season.
“Hopefully, we will be better wholly than last year, said Butler. “The guys have played together a little bit, so it gives us a chance to be pretty good, I hope. We will see when the season starts. You know, this is a new thing for everybody in the league, what’s going on right now. We’re all trying to take advantage of what we can do best, get our guys going so that they’ll be comfortable with what we are doing.”
The impact Fitzpatrick made was instantly felt with his epic debut against the San Francisco 49ers. His five interceptions were the most in a single season since Polamalu registered seven in 2010. He was also the first Steelers defender to have touchdowns in back-to-back weeks since Sam Washington in 1984.
It is safe to say the last line of defense for the Pittsburgh Steelers is now occupied by a third-year safety with First-Team honors. That should help make Steelers Nation sleep a little easier each night.
Is it too early to start talking contract extension?
Photo Credit Pittsburgh Steelers / Karl Roser