T.J. Watt, Minkah Fitzpatrick in Top 50 of PFN's Top Players of 2020

The Steelers' two best defenders found themselves in the top 50 players of Pro Football Network's Top 100. Of the best players in 2020, T.J. Watt and Minkah Fitzpatrick represent Pittsburgh as two of the best.

Fitzpatrick is the first to appear in the top 50. The Steelers' safety came to Pittsburgh in Week 3 of the 2019 season and helped turn the defense into a league-leading unit it turnovers. He sits at No. 41 on PFN's Top 100.

Minkah Fitzpatrick’s advanced cover metrics won’t wow you by any means. According to

Pro Football Reference’s advanced defensive stats

, he gave up the 9th most yards per completion (14.9) and 12th most yards per target (9.3) amongst safeties in the league. Where he made his impact felt in 2019 were the turnovers he created. Fitzpatrick had the 2nd most interceptions of any defender (5), three fumble recoveries, two forced fumbles, two defensive touchdowns, and a partridge in a pear tree.

His playmaking ability earned him AP first-team All-Pro honors in just his second season. The young defensive star should only continue to improve under Mike Tomlin.

Edge rusher T.J. Watt is the highest representer for the Steelers. The Defensive Player of the Year finalist finished No. 12 on the list, being recognized as the second-highest outside linebacker.

When your older brother is one of the most fearsome defensive players of the past decade, there is a level of expectation that follows you into the NFL. T.J. Watt has lived up to the expectation over the past three years and may well be the player you’d least like to encounter in 2020.

The outside linebacker has built a fierce reputation as a heavy-hitting, tough tackling, machine of a man in his short time in the NFL. Watt jointly led the NFL in forced fumbles in 2019 with eight, taking his career total to an impressive 15.

The most troublesome thing for opposing offenses is that he is still getting better. Watt has increased his production in terms of forced fumbles, sacks, and tackles for loss every year so far which resulted in him being named as a first-team All-Pro in 2019. And his best may be yet to come.

Other Steelers to make the list include Stephon Tuitt (90), David DeCastro (73), and Cameron Heyward (67).

Noah Strackbein is a Publisher with AllSteelers. Follow Noah on Twitter @NoahStrack, and AllSteelers @si_steelers.