Sam Darnold Wary of Minkah Fitzpatrick: 'He Reads the Quarterback So Well'
There is a reason why Minkah Fitzpatrick hasn’t had an interception over the last five games. Simply, teams have stopped targeting the Pittsburgh Steelers defensive back in recent weeks. It is something that the New York Jets and quarterback Sam Darnold must figure out when they face Fitzpatrick this Sunday.
It has been a new lease on life in Pittsburgh for Fitzpatrick, who was acquired in a trade with the Miami Dolphins earlier this season. Fitzpatrick, the No. 11 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, has grown into his role in the Steelers secondary.
In fact, it was a growth spurt. Fitzpatrick had five interceptions and eight passes defended in his first seven games with his new team. All that has changed in recent weeks as Fitzpatrick simply hasn’t seen as many balls thrown in his direction after his hot start in Pittsburgh.
That doesn’t make him any less dangerous in the secondary, however.
“Minkah is a great player. Just what he is able to do on the back end as a safety, he reads the quarterback really well so obviously I have to be aware of that,” Darnold told reporters at the team’s facility on Thursday.
“They have really good players on defense in general, but Minkah is one of them.”
This makes for a match-up scenario with Fitzpatrick and Darnold. The Jets second-year quarterback has been consistent in cutting back on his turnovers after a rough start to the year protecting the ball.
From Week 6 thru Week 9, Darnold threw a total of nine interceptions and the Jets went 1-3 during that stretch. Since then, Darnold has three interceptions across six games as the Jets have gone 4-2.
Throwing the ball away and making smarter choices with the football has directly coincided with the Jets improved standard of play.
Adam Gase, who was Fitzpatrick’s head coach in Miami last year, said that Fitzpatrick is finally “playing the spot he was drafted for.” Due to injuries, Fitzpatrick often lined up as cornerback in Miami’s defense last year.
With the Steelers, the move to safety is tailor-made for his skillset.
“They have him in the post, allow him to be aggressive, and he’s done that,” Gase said during his press conference on Wednesday. “The ball finds him.”
