Over the next few months, we’ll be breaking down all of the players added by the Jets during free agency and in the legal tampering window. We continue today with defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick.
The 29-year old Fitzpatrick is listed at 6’1” and 202 pounds and was the 11th overall pick out of Alabama in 2018. He has had a successful NFL career as he has been a five-time pro bowler while racking up almost 700 tackles and 21 interceptions.
Background
Fitzpatrick attended high school in the New Jersey
area and was ranked as the number four cornerback prospect in the nation and a five-star recruit by ESPN.com.
He headed to Alabama where he immediately slotted into a role in their secondary. He ended his first season with 45 tackles, 11 pass breakups and two sacks, while also returning two interceptions for touchdowns.
In his sophomore and junior seasons, Fitzpatrick was a unanimous all-American, as he had 66 tackles and six interceptions in 2016, with two more pick-sixes, and 60 tackles, eight tackles for loss and eight pass breakups in 2017. He won the Chuck Bednarik and Jim Thorpe awards in his junior year and Alabama won the National Title for the second time in his three seasons.
Fitzpatrick opted to enter the 2018 NFL draft and was selected with the 11th overall pick by Miami. He would go on to start 11 games as a rookie, racking up 80 tackles, nine pass breakups and two interceptions.
In 2019, the Dolphins got off to a bad start and opted to hit the reset button, trading Fitzpatrick to the Steelers after the second game. By the end of the season, Fitzpatrick had accounted for five interceptions and three fumble recoveries with two defensive touchdowns and was named as a pro bowler and first team all-pro.
He was again a pro bowler and all-pro in 2020 as he had 79 tackles, 11 pass breakups and four interceptions. However, he wasn’t named to the pro bowler in 2021 despite racking up a career-high 124 tackles.
In 2022, he earned his all-pro recognition for the third time as he was tied for the league lead with six interceptions. He was also a pro bowler in 2023 and 2024 despite only intercepting one pass in two years.
Last June, the Steelers traded Fitzpatrick to the Dolphins and although he wasn’t a pro bowler, he had 82 tackles and set career marks for tackles for loss and quarterback hits. He also had the first sack of his career.
Earlier this month, Jets acquired him in a trade with the Dolphins, and then extended him on a three-year deal with a reported maximum value of $40 million.
Let’s move onto some more in-depth analysis of what Fitzpatrick brings to the table, based on in-depth research and film study.
Measurables/Athleticism
Fitzpatrick has average size and below average length but he has good burst and range. He ran a 4.46 in the 40-yard dash at the combine and posted an impressive 6.73 three-cone drill at his pro day.
His vertical jump was a disappointing 33 inches but he posted a solid broad jump and short shuttle, along with 14 bench press reps.
Usage
Fitzpatrick is a versatile player who, at various times in his career, has played a mixture of outside, deep, in the slot and in the box. Over the course of his career, he has primarily played as a deep safety but Miami used him differently last season as he was matched up in slot coverage more often than in the past. That was more in line with how he was used in college.
He was a cornerback and wide receiver in high school.
Coverage
Fitzpatrick’s coverage numbers have been solid over the course of his career, during which time he has spent time both in man coverage situations and ranging deep. He reads the game well, with good anticipation.
With his experience at cornerback, he moves well and can pick up man coverage assignments. He also breaks on the ball well.
Last season, the longest play he gave up was just 28 yards, but he has been on the wrong end of some longer plays at times in his career.
He only gave up three touchdowns in his college career but he has given up a few each season on average at the NFL level with five of those coming in 2022.
Ball Skills
Fitzpatrick’s on-ball numbers have been outstanding at every level with 21 interceptions in his NFL career, although he has just two interceptions and 13 pass breakups in the past three years. He actually had another interception last year that didn’t count officially because it was on a two-point conversion. He averaged almost four interceptions and over nine pass breakups per year in his first five seasons.
He has excellent timing and closing speed, with his experience as a high school receiver helping him attack the ball and display solid concentration.
When he gets his hands on the ball, Fitzpatrick is a major threat to bring it back. He had four pick-sixes in college and another four at the NFL level and has also scored on a fumble, a blocked punt and a failed two-point conversion.
He is good at locating and tracking the ball down the field but can be outmuscled at the catch-point from time to time.
Tackling
Fitzpatrick is a productive tackler, who posted a career-high 124 tackles in 2021. He has good range and technique and takes solid pursuit angles.
His missed tackle percentages have generally been acceptable but there was an uptick last year as he had 13 missed tackles overall.
He has forced six fumbles in the NFL and had two in his college career.
Run Defense
Fitzpatrick has consistently posted excellent run defense grades on analytical sites such as Pro Football Focus. In 2019, for example, they had him ranked third out of all defensive backs.
He is good at coming downhill and avoiding blockers by making decisive reads.
Blitzing
Fitzpatrick is a player who doesn’t blitz very often, despite the fact he had 4.5 sacks in three seasons in college.
When he has blitzed, which is less than once per game on average, his pressure percentages are acceptable but nothing special. He had his first NFL sack last season as he blitzed more than he has in the past but still less than twice per game.
He has been called for roughing the passer twice at the NFL level but one was an extremely soft call to negate another sack.
Special Teams
As you’d expect, Fitzpatrick didn’t play much on special teams after his rookie year and entered last season with three career special teams tackles.
However, last season, he played kick coverage and posted a career high six special teams tackles.
In college, he had 10 career special teams tackles and two penalties. He also blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown and had a blocked field goal. He also blocked this field goal and returned it for a touchdown with the Steelers, although it was called back for a dubious penalty.
Physicality
Fitzpatrick is physical in coverage, as evidenced by the fact he’s been called 12 times for defensive pass interference in his pro career. He has also had eight more penalties for illegal contact, defensive holding or illegal use of the hands.
Some Browns fans still feel Fitzpatrick was guilty of a dirty hit when he went in low on Nick Chubb a few years ago to cause a serious injury.
Size-wise, he is more like a cornerback than a safety and this can mean he is overpowered by bigger pass catchers sometimes.
Nevertheless, he is capable of some big hits, both when tackling and in downfield coverage situations.
Instincts
Fitzpatrick’s versatility and experience should provide a big boost to the Jets in terms of their communication on the back end. He shows excellent positional sense and anticipation and is rarely at fault in terms of blown coverages.
An example of his football IQ came in a game last December when he reacted angrily to a late-game playcall he evidently felt would not work and the Steelers took a timeout and changed the call, leading to a game-clinching interception.
Attitude/Demeanor
Fitzpatrick had a tough upbringing which instilled in him virtues of discipline, faith and loyalty. He developed into an excellent leader at Alabama, who named him a permanent team captain ahead of his junior year.
His on-field discipline has generally been good, as he’s averaged less than four accepted penalties per season. However, he has been flagged 12 times for personal fouls at the NFL level. He only had five defensive penalties in his college career.
Off the field, he’s received recognition for community work at the college and NFL levels.
Injuries
Fitzpatrick has avoided any major injuries so far in his career, although he has been banged up at times. He missed seven games in 2023 due to knee and hamstring issues but had only otherwise missed three NFL games entering last year (one due to Covid-19, one from a knee injury and one from a ruptured appendix).
After playing the first 14 games of last season, Fitzpatrick missed the last three due to a calf issue.
In college, he missed one game due to an undisclosed injury as a freshman and one due to a hamstring injury in his final season. He showed toughness at one stage when he was hospitalized with a kidney injury but played in the next game.
Fitzpatrick has also had a concussion, an ankle issue and a chest injury in his pro career but didn’t miss any games from these.
Scheme Fit
Fitzpatrick is expected to step into a starting safety role with the Jets, although he already revealed to the media that the plan is for him to play in the slot at times.
He’s the kind of player who can fill in for someone who is injured at multiple spots to enable the Jets to fill out the rest of the secondary with their strongest available options.
The Jets will of course hope he brings some playmaking ability to their defense and helps them to force more turnovers, although it shouldn’t go unmentioned that his numbers in that area have been down over the past few years. His forced fumble in a November 2024 game broke a 23-game steak with no forced fumbles, interceptions or fumble recoveries. He has five such plays in the 20 games since then, though.
There’s a school of thought that suggests he became less of a ball hawk and more of a deterrent with teams reluctant to throw down the middle when he was ranging deep with the Steelers. Of course, his role changed so he wasn’t deep all the time last year, though.
Fitzpatrick is reuniting with current Jets defensive coordinator Brian Duker on the Jets, after Duker was his defensive backs coach in Miami last season. He has also been a teammate of current Jets Mykal Walker and Chukwuma Okorafor in Pittsburgh.
Conclusions
Since the Jets got Fitzpatrick, he seems to have been lumped in with Demario Davis and David Onyemata as examples of experienced defensive leaders who will bring good leadership to the unit. That’s positive but it might also be underselling him because he’s talked about as being somewhat past his prime despite actually still being in his twenties.
Hopefully, Fitzpatrick is still at his peak and will provide the Jets not just with a huge individual upgrade at one of their weakest positions but also a boost to those around him, who will benefit from his communication and ability to erase their mistakes by anticipating things and being in the right place at the right time.
