For all intents and purposes, the Steelers have used two of their last three first-round draft picks on safeties. For all intensive purposes, the Steelers secondary relied on pseudo-draft pick Minkah Fitzpatrick.
Defensively, the Steelers’ two worst performances against the pass in 2019 were arguably their first two games, against New England and Seattle. Then they traded their No. 1 pick for the first time in more than 50 years to get Fitzpatrick and solidified the centerpiece of their defensive backfield for years to come.
“It presented itself, and it wasn’t hard to make that decision because Minkah was a very good player,” general manager Kevin Colbert said in February at the NFL combine. “He still had four years left on his [rookie] deal. We always equated that to a first-round pick. Was it an instant overnight decision? Of course not. We had to make sure what might be available. We didn’t know where we were picking, what might be available at that pick.”
It’s difficult to imagine the Miami Dolphins using the selection they got from the Steelers, No. 18 overall, later this month to draft a player who matches Fitzpatrick’s value and impact. For one, he was the 11th overall pick himself in 2018, but he also already has a first-team All-Pro honor as his resume after leading the NFL with eight takeaways (five interceptions, three fumble recoveries) last season.
The sample size of the 2019 Steelers defense pre-Fitzpatrick is small, but we have a good picture of how productive the unit can be with him. He figures to be the first true face of the secondary since Troy Polamalu retired. All that’s really left to discuss about Fitzpatrick is how good he’ll be and what other roles he might take on. For now, he’s the piece the Steelers needed at free safety, but could he play more of a traditional strong safety position if needed? Slot cornerback? The former wasn't a deployment Fitzpatrick was happy with in Miami, though the latter is still very much in his wheelhouse, as evidenced by his usage there as a rookie with the Dolphins.
“We had to be real simple with him at first,” defensive coordinator Keith Butler said late last year. “Then, gradually taught him the defense and now he knows the defense and he is helping us.”
Any safety’s job is to help erase mistakes downfield, which is something Fitzpatrick fared much better at than his counterpart in 2019. Terrell Edmunds, the Steelers’ actual first-round pick two years ago at No. 28 overall, didn't take the same kind of sophomore leap as classmate Fitzpatrick or previous first-rounder T.J. Watt.
Edmunds again played nearly every snap and saw his tackle total jump from 78 to 105 (solo stops from 55 to 71). But after a rookie season in which he had just two takeaways — one interception, one fumble recovery — with more splash plays expected of Edmunds, he didn't pick off a pass or force or recover a fumble.
Those are the simplest counting stats to evaluate a safety. But the anecdotal evidence and advanced metrics aren't particularly kind to Edmunds either. He had a rough start and finish to his second season, beginning and ending it with missed tackles leading to touchdowns.
Four of the first seven touchdowns scored against the Steelers last year were to Edmunds’ side of the field, as were four of the last five. In Week 1 at New England, former Patriots quarterback Tom Brady threw all three of his touchdown passes to the right side of the field, where Edmunds was in zone coverage opposite one-time starter Kameron Kelly. On the first, Edmunds missed a tackle on Josh Gordon at the 5-yard line; on the second he couldn’t break up a catch by Phillip Dorsett after Mike Hilton was burned in man coverage; and on the third, he and Kelly got caught flat-footed as Dorsett raced down the seam for a wide-open 58-yarder.
Things went from bad to worse, as Edmunds was beside himself after the Week 2 loss to the Seahawks. First, he was called for pass interference on a second-and-20 play that set up Seattle’s final touchdown. That clinching touchdown was then scored right on top of his head, 28 yards on third down from Russell Wilson to rookie D.K. Metcalf.
Flash-forward to the final quarter of the season, and while the defense tightened up, blossoming into a stingy group at the top of the league, Edmunds’ struggles resurfaced. The Steelers won in Week 14 at Arizona, but not before Kyler Murray hit running back David Johnson for a 24-yard touchdown when Edmunds mistimed his jump to break it up. The next game, Buffalo’s winning score came on a 14-yard strike from Josh Allen when Tyler Kroft slipped into the end zone right in front of Edmunds. A week later, the Jets needed just one touchdown for a 16-10 victory, and got it when Robby Anderson beat Joe Haden’s coverage and Edmunds’ safety help for a 23-yard reception from Sam Darnold.
While anticipation and ball skills showed up as weaknesses for Edmunds on those big plays allowed, it’s not as if his tackling was always sure. Baltimore’s only offensive touchdown in the season finale was an 8-yard run by Justice Hill, who ran through Edmunds in the B gap and was barely slowed down before breaking two more tackles. According to pro-football-reference.com, Edmunds’ missed tackle percentage rose from 6% as a rookie to 9.5% last year.
None of this means the verdict is in on Edmunds as a disappointing first-round pick. He’s been durable and good enough to continue playing more than 90% of the team’s snaps, let alone keep his starting job. But a year from now, the Steelers will need to exercise or decline the fifth-year option on his rookie deal as well as Fitzpatrick’s, which will be an easy call. Since that became a contract staple for first-round picks in 2011, the Steelers have only opted out twice, and those decisions came after both Jarvis Jones and Artie Burns were injured or benched in their first three seasons.
That means Edmunds essentially has one more season to prove he’s not a weak link in an otherwise sturdy secondary. The option years are now fully guaranteed salaries, and as a late-first-round safety, Edmunds won’t cost as much as Fitzpatrick — especially if he doesn’t make the Pro Bowl next year. It’s not as if he’ll be challenged much for playing time, either, given the depth chart at safety. With 2016 second-round pick Sean Davis off to the Redskins following an injury-plagued fourth season, Marcus Allen and Jordan Dangerfield are the current backups to Fitzpatrick and Edmunds. Neither is considered a deep safety, so both are effectively Edmunds’ backup and Edmunds would likely take on Fitzpatrick’s role if he were injured.
Considering their inaction in free agency, the Steelers could look to address safety in the draft. Given what they’ve invested in their starters at the position the past three seasons, don't expect it to be with their second-round pick, but any other slot should be fair game depending on the prospects available. As the Steelers play more and more sub-package football, safeties are increasingly becoming queens on a chess board, and last year showed us how one playmaking knight can ride in and save a flailing defense midseason.
Safeties
• Terrell Edmunds
Year acquired: 2018 draft, first round
School: Virginia Tech
Contract status: Signed through 2021 (club option for 2022)
• Minkah Fitzpatrick
Year acquired: 2019, trade with Dolphins
School: Alabama
Contract status: Signed through 2021 (club option for 2022)
• Jordan Dangerfield
Year acquired: 2014, free agent
School: Towson
Contract status: Signed through 2020
• Marcus Allen
Year acquired: 2018, fifth round
School: Penn State
Signed through: 2021
• John Battle
Year acquired: 2020, free agent
School: LSU
Signed through: 2020
• Tyree Kinnel
Year acquired: 2020, XFL
School: Michigan
Signed through: 2020
Top 5 safeties according to CBSsports.com
• Xavier McKinney, Alabama, junior
• Grant Delpit, LSU, junior
• Ashtyn Davis, California, senior
• Antoine Winfield Jr., Minnesota, sophomore
• Kyle Dugger, Lenoir-Rhyne, senior
Brian Batko: bbatko@post-gazette.com and Twitter @BrianBatko.
First Published: April 3, 2020, 3:00 p.m.
