Pittsburgh Steelers S Minkah Fitzpatrick is one of the best defensive players in the NFL. His ball-hawking ability creates many splash plays and his football IQ allows him to be played all over the defensive backfield. Despite this, it is no secret that Fitzpatrick’s best play is when he is allowed to be a center fielder at free safety.
Last year was one of Fitzpatrick’s worst as a pro. He battled injury, played all over the secondary, and failed to intercept a pass. One reason for this was being asked to play all over the place instead of his best position of free safety. The Steelers want to get Fitzpatrick back to free safety, and new addition DeShon Elliott may be able to help make that happen.
His versatility is already showing up in training camp. CB Joey Porter Jr. was interviewed the other day by Post-Gazette Sports and spoke on how Elliott’s versatility will help this year.
“We could put him wherever we need him,” said Porter. “Last year we had problems with our secondary, a lot of guys hurt and a lot of moving pieces. So, the fact that he’s versatile and can move around positions is gonna help us in the long run.”
Fitzpatrick was the player who primarily played all over the place. Per PFF, Fitzpatrick lined up 134 times in the slot and 149 times in the box in only 10 games. Fitzpatrick only lined up at free safety 227 times last year, by far the lowest in his time with the Steelers.
Elliott is another player who can play all over, but his primary role will hopefully take Fitzpatrick out of the box. Per PFF, Elliott aligned mostly at free safety but logged 236 snaps in the box. Elliot can also play in the slot in a pinch, as in 2022, he took 124 snaps in the slot.
With Fitzpatrick being able to return to his home as a lurking free safety, the interceptions will hopefully come. In 2022, Fitzpatrick lined up at free safety 640 times and was able to intercept six passes.
This season’s secondary could be similar to the 2022 secondary as well. Elliott could play the Terrell Edmunds role of being in the box while Fitzpatrick plays deep safety. Last year, the goal was to have Keanu Neal play the Edmunds role, but that didn’t work out, as Neal went on injured reserve midway through the season. Additionally, Pittsburgh still has S Damontae Kazee to run a three-safety set. When DeShon Elliott has been playing in the slot, Kazee has been playing back at safety alongside Fitzpatrick so far in camp.
The slot corner situation could also be improved with the return of DB Cameron Sutton during the back half of the season. Rookie UDFA CB Beanie Bishop Jr. has also been impressing early in camp as a slot option.
Pittsburgh’s defense is filled with superstars, and it plays its best when those superstars are put in the right spots. Last year, Fitzpatrick wasn’t put in the right spot. Instead, he was used to patch up holes in the defense, whether due to injury or poor play. With the versatile Elliott in, the Steelers can let Fitzpatrick do what he does best.
