Pittsburgh Steelers S DeShon Elliott had a great team debut in the Week 1 win over the Atlanta Falcons, nabbing an interception and looking like the perfect compliment to Minkah Fitzpatrick. Elliott seems to enjoy playing next to Fitzpatrick, and he said on The Drive on Steeler Nation Radio that Fitzpatrick is helping him get better just by being around him.
“He’s a great influence. Plus, you can’t be in a room with Minkah and not try to be better,” Elliott said. “He’s very smart, he’s a very instinctual player. So I’m trying to do as much as I can to match his abilities. As of right now, I’ve done it, but the NFL is about being consistent, and consistency wins championships and that also at the end of the day gets everybody paid.”
Fitzpatrick is dedicated to his craft, and his work ethic has helped turn him into one of the top safeties in the NFL. As Elliott said, he’s someone who relies on his instincts but he does a lot of work leading up to each game to be instinctual in the moment. It seems like Elliott is learning from the work that Fitzpatrick puts in, and it’s making him a better safety.
While Elliott played well in Week 1, consistency is key as he noted, and he’s going to need to keep up a high level of play all season long to help complement Fitzpatrick. The goal with signing Elliott is to allow Fitzpatrick to play more of a deep safety role where he can be the most dangerous, and that was the case in Week 1. Elliott also had the pick in Week 1, and he showed good ball skills with two passes defensed in addition to the interception.
If the Steelers get the level of play they got out of Elliott in Week 1 throughout the season, they might wind up with one of the best safety tandems in the league. Fitzpatrick’s influence on him has shown up in his play already, and Elliott could be a really underrated signing not just for him being able to free up Fitzpatrick, but his own play as well.
The Steelers haven’t experienced much playoff success recently, but it seems like this team has its mind set on winning in the postseason, with Elliott talking about how consistency can win championships. If Elliott stays consistent, it’s going to elevate Pittsburgh’s ceiling this season, and with how talented the rest of the defense is around him, this could be the season where the Steelers get that elusive playoff win.
