There really isn't much Minkah Fitzpatrick can do for an encore, unless it's to sing the national anthem, provide the halftime entertainment and pass-protect for Ben Roethlisberger.
He had the greatest Pittsburgh debut since Mario Lemieux after the Steelers acquired him in a trade with the Miami Dolphins in Week 3 of the 2019 season, providing the missing piece to a defense that was in desperate search of a playmaker.
Now, after becoming the first Steelers player in five years to be selected first-team All-Pro in just his second NFL season, Fitzpatrick has a chance to become even more of a factor in their drastically improved defense. Just don't expect the Steelers to give him the freedom and deploy him the way Troy Polamalu roamed the field during his Hall of Fame career.
The Steelers are fine with Fitzpatrick roaming the middle to back end of the field and doing what he did last year.
"It doesn't matter to me," Fitzpatrick said on a Zoom call with Pittsburgh-area media on Tuesday. "I just like going out there making plays and being where I need to be, and last year where I needed to be was in the middle of the field. It worked out fine. This season, just keep doing what we need to win games. If that's (playing) corner, linebacker, whatever that may be, that's what I'm going to do."
For the Steelers, it's not so much about expanding what Fitzpatrick does. It's more about expanding what the defense can do around him, knowing he has control from his free safety position.
The Steelers had to limit their defensive packages last season when Fitzpatrick arrived after the second game of the season. But, as he became more comfortable in the secondary, they were able to gradually expand their schemes as the season wore on.
Now, with an entire offseason _ truncated as it might be _ he has the whole library of defenses at his disposal. Not that he ever looked out of place to begin with. Oh, there was the occasional gaffe in coverage, but he more than atoned with five interceptions, one for a 96-yard touchdown, three fumble recoveries and two forced fumbles. He also had nine passes defensed. Of the Steelers' league-high 38 takeaways, he literally had a hand in 12 of them.
It was enough that Fitzpatrick, in just his second season in the league, was named All-Pro and selected to the Pro Bowl. Since Mike Tomlin became coach in 2007, only two other Steelers players have been named first-team All-Pro in their second season _ Maurkice Pouncey in 2011 and Le'Veon Bell in 2014.
"I think last year, coming in at the time I did, I didn't know the playbook as well as I do now," Fitzpatrick said. "The coaches wanted to keep it simple for me and they did. I appreciated that. Now, if the coaches want me to move around, I'll move around. If they don't, then I don't need to. I'm trying to learn the system and get it down to a 'T,' just in case if they ask me to move, I can move."
Fitzpatrick made such an immediate splash with the Steelers that opposing quarterbacks stopped looking his way and testing his area _ or so it seemed to the 6-foot-1, 207-pound free safety. But the numbers back his suspicions. In the final seven games, he did not have an interception or forced fumble and had just one fumble recovery and pass defensed.
"I think teams started taking less shots down the field, taking less shots wherever I was," Fitzpatrick said. "If I was in the middle of the field, they were not going to be throwing in the middle of the field. If I was in half, they weren't going to be targeting that area where I was. I don't know if it was a game plan or decision-making by the quarterback, but I did realize a difference."
Fitzpatrick will call the signals in the back end of the defense, a role he picked up with ease. A bigger question for the Steelers is how well inside linebacker Devin Bush, last year's No. 1 draft choice, can make the calls for the front seven. Bush will have the responsibility because he is expected to be on the field more than any of the linebackers.
Unlike Fitzpatrick, the Steelers are expecting a big jump from Bush in his second season with the team. Another is strong safety Terrell Edmunds, who will be looked at as a possible replacement for Mark Barron in some defensive looks. Both of those players will be aided by the presence of Fitzpatrick in the middle of the field.
"It's going to help the defense in a big way," Fitzpatrick said. "We had a lot of young guys last year that didn't fully grasp the concepts and weren't able to think on their toes. Teams started picking up on that and started making people move around. That's been a real big emphasis for our offseason working on that second level, after guys move and the offense might adjust."
Even at that, Fitzpatrick said the Steelers have a lot of talent on defense to be even better than the sixth-ranked unit that allowed an average of 16.75 points in the final eight games in 2019.
"I think we're one of the best," Fitzpatrick said. "It was reflected last year in the way we played. We were in the top three, top five, in almost every single category. So I think our talent and execution level _ a lot of guys have talent _ but our execution level with our talent level is what sets us apart and will continue to set us apart."
