Fitzpatrick has the most crucial ingredient to NFL success
Fitzpatrick: highly cerebral, rabid desire for perfection, athletic talent
The Miami Dolphins drafted Minkah Fitzpatrick #11 in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft last night. Many were surprised that he dropped that far. But Phinsnews predicted that 4 QBs would go in the Top 10 and drive some exceptional talent down the boards to Miami. We thought Edmunds or Smith would be that talent. We had little hope that Fitzpatrick would be there too. Miami was very, very fortunate that he was.
But according to Greg Rosenthal ranked the Dolphins as the biggest losers:
Of course, Ray Lewis might disagree. He called Minkah “can’t miss” and a “culture changer”.
But what’s Ray ‘got’ on Greggie? Right?
Phinsnews wrote back in April that a secondary pick with #11 wasn’t needed… unless one player, Fitzpatrick, had an unexpected drop down the boards because he could make this passing defense special.
Let’s get a closer look at WHO Fitzpatrick is
Dan Canova wrote about Minkah in an excellent article well worth the read (here):
“He (Minkah) woke up at 5:30 a.m. at 14 years old.
He would carpool with St. Peter’s Prep head coach Rich Hansen to Jersey City every single day, and when he returned home after football practice around 8 p.m., he would work with his dad repairing his Old Bridge home until the wee hours of the morning.
Then 5:30 a.m. would come… and he’d do it all over again.
He was forced to become a man as a young boy.
Meet Minkah Fitzpatrick.”
Driven to succeed with a lunch pail mentality and a rare combination of speed, agility, and size
Okay, beyond all the vagaries, why was Minkah THE correct pick over Vea or Edmunds?
Miami’s primary defensive flaws in 2017 were lack of turnovers, inability to play Cover 1 (Man) successfully, and allowed opposing team’s Tight Ends to run roughshod. Fitzpatrick will go a long way towards correcting all these flaws. His intelligence, athletic talent, ability to ‘QB’ the secondary, range and ball skills will dramatically improve this defense. He has the ability to play Single High (freeing CBs to use more press and man), can come up in the box, man cover RBs, TEs, and WRs, blitz, and also provide run support.
Edmunds has large question marks about his instincts, technique, and knowledge of the game. Vea has technique issues, conditioning concerns, and questions about his ability to pass rush. As a Free Safety / Hybrid, Fitzpatrick is nearly flawless and has one of, if not the, highest floors of any prospect in the 2018 Draft.
This is a very big win, folks!!!
Forget about the woes of the 2017 pass-D, Fitzpatrick has given this secondary a serious enema!!!
Matt Burke wants to run a complex defense. Now he has the man to run it through in Fitzpatrick… a.k.a Saban Jr. This acquisition will also allow a crucial thing to happen: the shuffling off of Kiko Alonso from pass coverage duties!
Yes, there were positional needs elsewhere. But Fitzpatrick’s acquisition will help correct fundamental flaws… and that’s more critical than positional concerns.
Now despite all this upside, this semi-luxury pick still leaves Miami with three ‘needs’ remaining: LB, TE, and DT. Gase and Grier must nail at least two of these positions with their remaining picks. For me, Defensive Tackle and Tight End are the most critical. But, so far so good. Go Phins!!!
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