Minkah Fitzpatrick

Minkah Annane Fitzpatrick Jr. (born November 17, 1996) is an American professional football safety for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide, and was selected by the Dolphins in the first round of the 2018 NFL draft. He has also played for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Early life

Fitzpatrick attended St. Peter's Preparatory School in Jersey City, New Jersey, where he played high school football for the Marauders. He was a wide receiver on offense and a defensive back on defense. In 2014, he caught 45 passes for 1,111 yards and 12 touchdowns, while recording 70 tackles and three interceptions on defense. He also ran track. He placed first at the Hudson County Championships with times of 10.86 seconds and 21.66 seconds in the 100 and 200 meters, respectively.

Considered a five-star recruit by ESPN.com, Fitzpatrick was listed as the No. 4 cornerback in the nation in 2015.

Fitzpatrick signed with Alabama at the 2015 National Signing Day, after being verbally committed for almost a year.

College career

As a true freshman in 2015, Fitzpatrick started 10 of 14 games, missing one game due to injury. He recorded 45 total tackles, with three for a loss, two sacks, two interceptions (both returned for scores), 11 pass breakups, one quarterback hurry, and one punt return for a touchdown. He was part of the Alabama team that won the national championship over Clemson. He was named a Freshman All-American by The Sporting News after Alabama's championship season.

In his sophomore season in 2016, Fitzpatrick returned an interception 100 yards in a 49–30 win over then-16th ranked Arkansas. The interception broke the Alabama Crimson Tide record for longest interception returned for a touchdown. In that same game, he tied the Alabama records for most interceptions in a game (3), and career interceptions returned for a touchdown (4). In the 2016 SEC Championship Game against Florida, Fitzpatrick broke the Alabama all-time record for career interceptions returned for a touchdown (4). He was named as a consensus All-American for 2016.

In his junior season in 2017, Fitzpatrick recorded 60 total tackles, 1.5 sacks, one interception, one forced fumble, and seven passes defensed. He won his second national championship as the Crimson Tide defeated Georgia 26–23 in overtime. He won the Chuck Bednarik Award and Jim Thorpe Award. He earned consensus All-American honors for the second consecutive season.

College statistics

Professional career

Pre-draft

On January 11, 2018, Fitzpatrick announced his decision to forgo his remaining eligibility and enter the 2018 NFL draft. Fitzpatrick attended the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis and completed the majority of combine drills, but opted to skip the short shuttle and three-cone drill. On March 7, 2018, Fitzpatrick participated at Alabama's pro day, but opted to stand on his combine numbers and only performed the short shuttle, three-cone drill, and positional drills.

Fitzpatrick attended pre-draft visits with the Chicago Bears, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and San Francisco 49ers. His versatility allowed him to possibly play safety or cornerback as a professional, but Fitzpatrick expressed his desire to primarily play cornerback to multiple teams. NFL analyst Mel Kiper Jr. stated Fitzpatrick may experience a slide in the draft due to not having a defined role. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Fitzpatrick was projected to be a first round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts. He was expected to be drafted within the top 15 selections. Fitzpatrick was ranked as the top cornerback prospect in the draft by DraftScout.com and was ranked as the top safety prospect by Sports Illustrated and NFL analyst Mike Mayock.

Miami Dolphins (first stint)

2018 season

The Miami Dolphins selected Fitzpatrick in the first round with the 11th overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft. Fitzpatrick was the first safety drafted in 2018. On June 1, 2018, the Dolphins signed Fitzpatrick to a fully guaranteed four-year, $16.4 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $10.04 million.

During training camp, Fitzpatrick competed against T. J. McDonald to be the starting free safety. He learned both safety positions and primarily ran with the second team. Head coach Adam Gase named Fitzpatrick the primary backup safety to begin the regular season, behind starters McDonald and Reshad Jones.

On September 9, 2018, Fitzpatrick made his professional regular season debut in the Miami Dolphins' home-opener against the Tennessee Titans in Week 1 and recorded six combined tackles (three solo) as well as breaking up a pass, in their 27–20 victory. In Week 3, he earned his first career start after Reshad Jones was declared inactive due to a shoulder injury and finished the Dolphins' 28–20 victory over the Oakland Raiders with ten combined tackles (two solo). On September 30, 2018, he collected ten combined tackles (four solo), two pass deflections, and made his first career interception off a throw by quarterback Tom Brady intended for wide receiver Phillip Dorsett during a 38–7 loss at the New England Patriots. On December 16, 2018, Fitzpatrick collected a season-high six solo tackles, deflected a pass, and intercepted a pass by Kirk Cousins that was intended for Stefon Diggs to return it for 50-yards to score his first career touchdown in the Dolphins' 17–41 loss at the Minnesota Vikings. He finished his rookie season in 2018 with 80 combined tackles (51 solo), two interceptions, nine passes defended, and a touchdown while appearing in all 16 games and starting in 11 of them.

On December 31, 2018, the Miami Dolphins fired head coach Adam Gase after they finished the 2018 NFL season with a 7–9 record and missed the playoffs.

2019 season

Throughout training camp, head coach Brian Flores and defensive coordinator Patrick Graham began utilizing Fitzpatrick in multiple different roles in the secondary and chose to select Bobby McCain and Reshad Jones as the starting safeties with Fitzpatrick acting as the primary nickelback and backup safety.

On September 8, 2019, he started in the Miami Dolphins' home-opener at nickelback and recorded six combined tackles (four solo) in a 59–10 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. On September 13, 2019, it was reported Fitzpatrick was granted permission to have his agent seek a trade after it was requested. He was unhappy with his role under Brian Flores, as he was playing out of his natural position and played four different roles in the season-opener. In Week 2 against the Patriots, Fitzpatrick made six tackles and recovered a fumble by running back Sony Michel in their 43–0 loss.

Pittsburgh Steelers

2019 season

On September 16, 2019, the Miami Dolphins traded Fitzpatrick, along with their 2020 fourth round (Kevin Dotson) and 2021 seventh round (Tre Norwood) draft picks, to the Pittsburgh Steelers, in exchange for the Steelers' 2020 first round (Austin Jackson), 2020 fifth round (Jason Strowbridge), and 2021 sixth round (eventually traded to the New York Jets) draft picks. Head coach Mike Tomlin immediately inserted him into the starting lineup with Fitzpatrick taking over the starting free safety role from Sean Davis.

On September 22, 2019, Fitzpatrick made his debut with the Pittsburgh Steelers and recorded five combined tackles (four solo), a pass deflection, forced a fumble, and also had an interception on Jimmy Garoppolo after it was deflected by Joe Haden in their 24–20 loss to the San Francisco 49ers. On October 6, 2019, Fitzpatrick collected a season-high seven combined tackles (six solo) during a 26–23 loss against the Baltimore Ravens.In Week 8, he made two combined tackles (one solo), two pass deflections, and had two interceptions thrown by former teammate Ryan Fitzpatrick, setting a career-high in a 27–14 victory against the Miami Dolphins. On November 8, 2019, he collected seven tackles (four solo), one pass deflection, and intercepted a pass thrown by Brian Hoyer and returned it for a 96-yard touchdown in a 26–24 win against the Indianapolis Colts. Fitzpatrick's pick-six was the third longest interception return for a touchdown in franchise history. The following week, Fitzpatrick made four combined tackles (three solo), two pass deflections, one interception, and scored a touchdown after he had a 43-yard return after he recovered a fumble teammate Javon Hargrave caused while sacking Jared Goff during a 17–12 victory against the Los Angeles Rams. His interception happened during a pass attempt by Jared Goff with less than a minute left in the fourth quarter, sealing the Steelers' victory.

He started in all 14 games during his first season with the Pittsburgh Steelers and had 69 comvined tackles (44 solo), five interceptions, nine pass deflections, three fumble recoveries, two forced fumbles, and two touchdowns while He was ranked 35th by his fellow players in the NFL Top 100 Players of 2020. He was voted to the 2020 Pro Bowl, marking his first Pro Bowl of his career.