Despite an emerging young cornerback in Joey Porter Jr. and Minkah Fitzpatrick being an All-Pro-caliber talent at safety, the Pittsburgh Steelers secondary did not fare favorably in Pro Football Focus’ rankings of secondaries around the league. The Steelers placed No. 23 ahead of the 2024 season, with the outlet throwing some shade at Fitzpatrick for being “a bit hot and cold.”
“The standout member of the unit is safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, who has been a bit hot and cold over the past four years. His highs are extremely good, as his 82.4 overall grade in 2022 shows, but his 57.2 grade in 2021 shows the lows. In 2023, he was right in the middle at 73.3 — good but not great. Cornerback Joey Porter Jr. had flashes of brilliant play last year but also showed rookie-year warts. The Steelers’ secondary is middle of the pack on paper, but the play of those two will determine whether they can crack the top 10 or stay mid-tier,” John Kosko writes.
Fitzpatrick’s 2021 season may have ranked low in PFF’s metrics, but that very clearly does not tell the whole story. Pittsburgh’s run defense was awful that season and Fitzpatrick was relied upon as a tackler, leading the Steelers with 124 combined stops. While it wasn’t the best use of Fitzpatrick’s talents, it’s not as if it’s a season that shows him being “hot and cold.” It’s a season that shows he’s willing to adapt and take on any role he needs for the Steelers to succeed.
In 2024, it sounds as if the Steelers will get back to putting Fitzpatrick in the best position to succeed. Hopefully, he’ll get back to being a dominating presence in the secondary and pick a few balls off after an injury-plagued 2024.
Beyond Fitzpatrick, the Steelers added DeShon Elliott to help out at safety, and Porter got a new partner across from him at cornerback in Donte Jackson. The Steelers also worked to add cornerback depth by signing Cameron Sutton and Anthony Averett, and that’s one room that’s gotten much stronger since the draft.
If Porter takes a leap in his second season and Fitzpatrick plays like an All-Pro again, Kosko is right that this could wind up being a top-10 secondary in football. I think they’re a little bit too low right now, but there is a lot of unknown and it’s understandable why the Steelers would be ranked toward the bottom.
These preseason rankings don’t mean anything once players hit the field, and we’ll see if the Steelers can outperform their ranking.
