What I remember most about Minkah Fitzpatrick’s 2021 season wasn’t splash plays or interceptions. What I remember most are the number of tackles he had to make, 124 in total, an unacceptable number for a safety. None of it was his fault but behind a porous front seven, Fitzpatrick was always on clean-up crew. He was responsible for preventing good gains by opposing offenses from becoming great ones, making a ton of open-field and downfield tackles.
To quantify things, Fitzpatrick led the NFL with 21 total tackles on plays that gained 20+ yards. Again, not blaming him. He got forced into that situation and bailed Pittsburgh’s defense out. But it was a number no one wanted to repeat.
Good news. He didn’t. His tackle numbers fell in 2022, down to 96 (7.8 per game in 2021, 6.4 in 2022). Just as importantly, he only had 13 tackles on plays of 20+ yards. That was far from the most in football, ranking tied for 17th in the NFL.
Let’s stack those numbers together to really get a side-by-side feel.
| Year | Fitzpatrick Total Tackles | Fitzpatrick Tackles Per Game | Fitzpatrick 20+ Yards Tackles | Fitzpatrick 20+ Yard Tackles Per Game |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 124 | 7.8 | 21 | 1.3 |
| 2022 | 96 | 6.4 | 13 | 0.87 |
A clear change. It doesn’t even break down his tackles against the run, the sticking point two years ago, with those numbers dropping from 11 in 2021 to six in 2022.
Ideally, his 2022 numbers would’ve involved even fewer total tackles but as a true centerfielder, he’s going to be in position for a lot of those moments. He’s also just a fantastic tackler, an underrated part of his game. As Josh Carney charted as part of his weekly missed tackles report, Fitzpatrick finished 2022 with just an 8.6% missed tackles rate, a linebacker-like figure.
Fitzpatrick’s tackle numbers have an obvious correlation with the Steelers’ total run defense. In 2021, they weren’t just worst in the league but historically bad. In 2022, they bounced back, finishing top 10 in yards and yards per carry against while allowing the fewest rushing scores in the NFL. Thus, Fitzpatrick’s numbers fell. That trend continuing in 2023, to even a smaller degree, would be ideal. If he can finish the season averaging exactly six tackles per game and only 10 of 20+ yards, it probably means Pittsburgh’s defense was very strong.
