Despite being the highest-graded safety in the NFL last season who played more than 800 snaps, Pittsburgh Steelers veteran Minkah Fitzpatrick didn’t land at the top of Pro Football Focus’ safety rankings Thursday morning, dropping one spot from a year ago.
Fitzpatrick was surpassed by fellow AFC safety and 2018 NFL Draft class member Derwin James of the Los Angeles Chargers for the top safety spot in Dalton Wasserman’s rankings. One year after ranking as the best safety in the NFL, Fitzpatrick now sits at No. 2 overall.
“The centerpiece of the Steelers’ secondary, Fitzpatrick had an excellent 2022 season after a disappointing 2021. His 82.4 overall grade ranked third among qualified safeties and he was one of just two safeties in the NFL to post at least an 82.0 grade in both run defense and coverage,” Wasserman writes regarding Fitzpatrick’s ranking at No. 2 at the safety position ahead of the 2023 season. “His six interceptions, including a pick-six of Joe Burrow, tied for the NFL lead among all players. The Steelers’ cornerback position is in flux, but they can take comfort in knowing Fitzpatrick is roving behind them.”
Fitzpatrick had a dominant 2022 season, tying for the NFL lead with six interceptions in a bounce back season, returning to his turnover-creating ways once again. Along with his six interceptions, Fitzpatrick recorded 94 tackles, tied a career high with 11 passes defensed and earned first-team All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors once again.
Knowing all of that, it’s a surprise that James earned the top spot over him. Fitzpatrick graded third overall at the safety position in 2022 from Pro Football Focus, behind only Baltimore’s Kyle Hamilton (600 snaps) and Washington’s Kameron Curl (727 snaps). James graded out as the No. 12 safety in football, which wasn’t particularly close to Fitzpatrick at No. 3.
According to Wasserman, James earned the top spot over Fitzpatrick due to his…ability to rush the passer. Yeah, you read that right.
Wasserman gave the Chargers star the top spot due to his combination of run defense, coverage and pass rush for the position. James earned grades of 75.3 in run defense, 74.5 in coverage and 90.9 in the pass rush department.
Ironically, Fitzpatrick had much better grades in run defense (82.2) and coverage (83.3) than James, but his pass rush (52.1) seemingly hurt him when it came to the top billing.
Context matters though. Fitzpatrick was asked to rush the passer just 12 times in 939 snaps last season. Knowing that, he had four total pressures on those 12 pass rush snaps, recording one quarterback hit and three hurries. James had, nine total pressures (one hit, four hurries) but was given a bit of a boost in the grade department due to his four sacks last season.
It’s hard to truly comprehend that a player like James — great in his own right — at the safety position would get the nod over Fitzpatrick for his ability to rush the quarterback compared to the Steelers safety for the top spot in the positional rankings for PFF, yet here we are. Fitzpatrick was truly dominant in the main areas required for safety play (coverage and run defense) yet gets knocked for not being asked to rush the passer often and not being overly impactful in that area as a true free safety.
