The Steelers' defense is obviously at its best when its stars are playing at the highest level. In 2023, Pittsburgh's defense certainly played well enough collectively, despite dealing with a slew of injuries. But, there's no denying that everybody expected more out of Minkah Fitzpatrick.
For the first time in his six-year NFL career, Fitzpatrick failed to force any turnovers, putting up zeros in interceptions, forced fumbles and fumble recoveries, and he turned in career lows with three passes defensed and 64 tackles. There's no doubt that part of the problem was Fitzpatrick playing a career-low 10 games due to various injuries, and even played less than 100% at times.
However, injuries aren't the only reason for Fitzpatrick's lack of production. In his availability with the media during minicamp this week, defensive coordinator Teryl Austin was contrite in how he used Fitzpatrick last season.
"We all know what kind of football player (Minkah) is," Austin told reporters on Wednesday. "Like I said, the biggest thing for us as coaches is to try and get all of our guys into the best positions possible so they can play as well as they can and play up to their abilities. And so last year I probably failed in that regard because we tried to have him do too much stuff and we want to get back to really what makes him special."
It doesn't take much digging to find a huge discrepancy in Fitzpatrick's usage. While he played the vast majority of his snaps at the traditional free safety position from the time the Steelers acquired Fitzpatrick in 2019, he spent significantly more time playing out of that position in 2023.
Fitzpatrick lined up in the box or in the slot 49.7% of the time last season, according to Pro Football Focus. Compare that to percentages of 29.1% in 2022, 19.7% in 2021, 21.2% in 2020 and 14.6% post-trade in 2019. That's a vast shift in how Fitzpatrick was used.
Maybe Austin felt it necessary to move him around because it was his first season without Terrell Edmunds by his side. But, the decision to play Fitzpatrick out of his traditional free safety position was premeditated, and not due to circumstance, such as the inside linebacker room being ravaged by injuries.
From the beginning of the season through Week 8, when Cole Holcomb suffered his season-ending leg injury, Fitzpatrick was lined up in the box or the slot on 50.4% of his snaps. So, it's not like the injuries to Holcomb and Kwon Alexander forced Austin to call an audible and play Fitzpatrick closer to the line of scrimmage more often to aid a weakened position.
When it comes to the best way to utilize Fitzpatrick, he himself put it very simply.
"Just let me play ball," Fitzpatrick said on June 6 via the team's website. "That's it. Minkah ball."
That "Minkah ball" is always at its best when Fitzpatrick lines up the vast majority of the time in his traditional free safety position. In 2022, Fitzpatrick lined up as a free safety 68.2% of the time, which was significantly more than any other spot. When Fitzpatrick is playing centerfield back there, he's able to read the play much more effectively.
Fitzpatrick has a special blend of a very high football IQ with exceptional athleticism. He's so good at seeing things before they happen, and he's able to make great plays both in pass coverage and run defense because of his closing speed, ball skills and tackling ability.
The Steelers did this immediately with Fitzpatrick after they acquired him for a first-round pick in 2019. Before the Dolphins traded him, they had Fitzpatrick lining up primarily in the box and the slot. They did it 50.2% of the time during his rookie season in 2018, and then followed that up with 60.3% of the time in the two games before the trade in 2019.
As soon as the Steelers acquired him, Fitzpatrick made an immediate impact in his first game, all while playing 58.2% of his snaps as a traditional free safety and not knowing the full complexity of the Steelers' defense. But, in this clip Fitzpatrick did with NFL.com, it's easy to see how his high football IQ helped him make a statement right away:
— DK Pittsburgh Sports (@DKPSmedia) June 14, 2024
If the Steelers get back to letting Minkah be Minkah, this defense could be significantly better than it was last season. While it seems counterproductive, Fitzpatrick is able to make more plays -- even as a tackler -- when he's playing further from the line of scrimmage.
The good thing is this group is much more equipped to let Fitzpatrick play centerfield. Having Patrick Queen and Payton Wilson in the linebacker room adds an elite player and quality depth to a room that already has Elandon Roberts and Holcomb, who is trending in the right direction to be ready to participate in football activity at the start of training camp.
In addition, adding DeShon Elliott to play alongside Fitzpatrick gives the Steelers a very physical safety that plays his best football in the box. Elliott is also an upgrade over Keanu Neal, giving the Steelers a solid three-safety look with Fitzpatrick, Elliott and Damontae Kazee, just in case they wanted to bring that look back. That might not be a bad idea. It worked pretty well in 2022. It definitely benefited Fitzpatrick, as he tied for the league lead with six interceptions.
It seems as if Fitzpatrick and Austin both agree that whatever the plan was in 2023 needed to be shredded. Getting back to Fitzpatrick doing what he does best should have an overwhelming impact on the Steelers' defense in 2024.
