By: Dave Stewart

The annual NFL awards are always exciting. One of the most interesting each year is the Defensive Player of the Year award. Over the last four seasons, it has also come to be known as the Aaron Donald award. The Los Angeles Rams’ defensive tackle has won three out of the last four awards.

I do not believe anyone would bat an eye if he were to take home a fourth this season. However, Donald is not the player I want to talk about today. Pittsburgh Steeler safety, Minkah Fitzpatrick, is just 24 years old and already he has received First-team All-Pro accolades twice in the first three years of his career. What would it take for him to add to DPOY to his trophy case?

To answer that question, I felt it prudent to look to history. The award was first given out 50 years ago in 1971. A safety has won only four times in that span. Dick Anderson became the first in 1973, followed by Kenny Easley in 1984, Ed Reed in 2004, and Troy Polamalu in 2010. Polamalu, the most recent safety to take home the trophy did so by accumulating seven interceptions to go along with 11 passes defended, one fumble recovery, one sack, two QB hits, one touchdown, and 69 total tackles, six of them for losses.

He was a disrupter, all over the field, in order to be named the league’s best defensive player. Fortunately, for Fitzpatrick, his style has him all over the field, as well. As a strong safety, Polamalu frequently played close to the line of scrimmage, and was used in a pass rushing capacity.

Steelers’ defensive coordinator, Dick LeBeau would draw up blitzes allowing Polamalu to use his speed to get after the quarterback. Often times, he would crowd close to the offensive line, threatening to blitz before ultimately dropping back in coverage. It was a technique that created confusion for quarterbacks and occasionally helped lead to his interceptions of pass deflections.

Fitzpatrick plays free safety and is rarely used to blitz the quarterback. He has only one QB hit in his career and four tackles for loss. Lacking opportunity to make plays in the opponents’ backfield, Fitzpatrick will have to meet a specific criteria to be in the running for DPOY.

He will need to establish a new personal best in interceptions. To date, Fitzpatrick has topped out at five picks in 2019. He has scored one touchdown in each if his first three seasons, a pace he will need to continue or improve upon to take home the honors. Averaging 76 total tackles each year is a solid number for a safety, but increasing that total will definitely attract some attention his way. Remarkably fast, Fitzpatrick still does not quite match up to the astonishing foot speed of Polamalu.

Yet, if the Steelers find a way to utilize his speed to diversify their pass rush, Fitzpatrick’s appeal for individual honors is bound to increase, especially if he can record his first career sack. In short, it will take a Herculean effort from Fitzpatrick to compete for the league’s highest defensive honor. Still, as one of the league’s premier safeties, it is hard to count him out. Whether he holds the trophy at year’s end or not, it is safe to say we can expect another big season from this emerging superstar.

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By: Dave Stewart

Throughout their history, the Pittsburgh Steelers, when they are winning, have always been led by an intimidating defense. While there have been stars at all levels of the defense, with names like Mean Joe Greene, Jack Lambert, Greg Lloyd, and Joey Porter, just to name a few, there has almost always been a legendary safety roaming the backfield. Interestingly enough, two such safeties to lift the Lombardi Trophy in black and gold both were inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2020.

Donnie Shell and Troy Polamalu are both beloved in Pittsburgh. Shell was a stalwart of the Steeler defense through the late 70s and deep into the 80s. During the team’s second back-to-back Super Bowl championships, he was a key player and those two seasons began a run of five consecutive Pro Bowl invites for him. He also earned First-Team All-Pro honors during three of those seasons. Shell was also a turnover collector, totaling 51 career interceptions and 19 recovered fumbles. Still, his most impressive statistic might be the 201 games that he played for Pittsburgh in his 14 seasons.

Polamalu was an enigma in the course of his career in the NFL. With his signature mane of hair flying wildly behind him, he seemed to cover more ground than was humanly possible. A problem both rushing the passer, as well as in pass defense, Polamalu undoubtedly provided many sleepless nights for opposing offensive coordinators. He flew to the ball and hung his hat on his closing speed when chasing down the ball carrier.

As a Steeler, Polamalu tallied 32 career interceptions to pair with 14 forced fumbles, seven fumble recoveries, and 12 sacks. He scored five touchdowns and carried home a Defensive Player of the Year award. Eight times a Pro-Bowler and four times an All-Pro, Polamalu set a new benchmark for play as a Steelers safety and is respected among the game’s best. A drawback to his all out reckless playing style were the injuries that inevitably came with. Polamalu missed over 30 career games with various physical ailments.

The latest version of menacing Steeler defense also features a marquee player at the back end. The Steelers hope to have hit the jackpot again when they traded their 2020 first round draft pick to acquire Minkah Fitzpatrick early during the 2019 campaign. While it is too early to place him on the same level with the aforementioned Shell and Polamalu, there can be no doubt that his rangy, ball-hawking style added a different dimension to the Steeler defense and did so immediately upon his arrival in the Steel City.

In his very first game as a Steeler, Fitzpatrick secured an interception and forced a fumble. Several weeks later, facing his former team, he recorded his first multi-interception game when he hauled in a pair of picks. In his 48 career games to date, Fitzpatrick has intercepted 11 passes and recovered four fumbles, with all but three of those turnovers coming after his trade to Pittsburgh.

A primary difference between Polamalu and Fitzpatrick is the role they play. As a free safety, Fitzpatrick mans the deepest parts of the field, whereas Polamalu played strong safety, often lining up close to the line of scrimmage and rushing the passer at a far more significant rate. With no sacks to his credit and only one quarterback hit, which incidentally came in Miami where they did have him playing strong safety, Fitzpatrick is unlikely to ever accumulate the amount of sacks that Polamalu did.

A similarity between the two players is evident when considering their playmaking abilities. Both safeties have tremendous ball skills and excellent closing speed, making any quarterback Leary about throwing in their direction. At 24 years old, Fitzpatrick’s career has really just begun. He has been active for every game in his first three seasons, starting in the last 40 consecutive contests. Steeler fans hold out hope that his overall career trajectory will be on par with those who have come before him in Pittsburgh. His ability in pass coverage will come in handy particularly in 2021, as the team is thin at the cornerback position. Scheming zone coverage to mitigate that weakness will be required. With a lot more football in him, my belief is that Fitzpatrick will assume the mantle of his predecessors and become the next in a line of great safeties in western Pennsylvania.

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