The Miami Dolphins are embracing the tank, and it looks like Minkah Fitzpatrick could be the next victim of the process. Fitzpatrick, the 11th pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, reportedly requested a trade following Week 1’s beatdown by the Baltimore Ravens. Frustrated by a regime that doesn’t want to win and questionable positional usage, Fitzpatrick is looking for a new home.
Fitzpatrick is one of the more promising young defenders in the league, so Miami should have no shortage of suitors for the second-year defensive back. If this were a list of teams interested in trading for Fitzpatrick, there’d be 31 names here. However, let’s take a look at the teams who could best utilize his talents.
Top Minkah Fitzpatrick Team Fits
Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh is probably the favorites in the Minkah Fitzpatrick sweepstakes. Despite the offseason loss of Antonio Brown, this is still one of the better rosters in the league. Ben Roethlisberger is still a capable starter, Juju Smith-Schuster is a worthy WR1, the offensive line is one of the best in the leagues, and the front seven is loaded.
The biggest weakness on this team is the secondary. Outside of Joe Haden, the Steelers don’t have a reliable player in their secondary, and their weaknesses showed when Tom Brady and company dropped 33 points on them in Week 1. Adding Fitzpatrick to play the slot should go a long way in securing the teams’ biggest weakness. Ben Roethlisberger isn’t getting any younger, so Pittsburgh should do everything in their power to win one more before Roethlisberger calls it a career.
Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs are desperate for some help in the secondary. Even without Tyreek Hill, Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid are capable of making this team a top competitor. However, this team needs better play from their defensive backs if they want to take home a championship.
Kansas City’s defense was arguably the worst in the league last year, and they haven’t done much to address it. Adding Frank Clark helps, but the secondary still needs someone other than Tyrann Mathieu to step up. Fitzpatrick would immediately be the best cornerback on the roster and might be enough to transform the defense from bad to average. When Patrick Mahomes is your quarterback, an average defense is good enough.
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers have wasted too many years of Aaron Rodgers’ prime with subpar defenses. Now that Rodgers isn’t playing quite as his 2011-2014 form, Green Bay needs to surround Rodgers with as much talent as possible. Green Bay has done a good job by going all-in during the offseason, and Jaire Alexander looks like a star in the making. That said, there’s no such thing as too many good cornerbacks, and Fitzpatrick would immediately boost an already talented secondary.
With Fitzpatrick on board, this could be Green Bay’s best defense since 2010. Just like the Steelers, the Packers should be doing everything possible to surround their aging passer with a strong, reliable roster. Fitzpatrick provides a steadying presence in the secondary and would be a big boost to Green Bay’s Super Bowl aspirations.
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys have one of the most talented rosters in the league, but they could use some help in their secondary. Byron Jones is a genuine stud, but the rest of the defensive backs could use some help. The Cowboys biggest weakness is probably safety, so Fitzpatrick could help out there in the short-term. However, he’s probably best suited for slot duties, and he’d be an upgrade on what Dallas currently has. It won’t be easy to keep pace with the Eagles in the division, but this move increases their odds of winning the division and winning another Super Bowl.
Philadelphia Eagles
Howie Roseman lives to make trades like this. The Eagles secondary isn’t bad by any means, but nobody in the league outside of Bill Belichick is better at acquiring talented players for pennies on the dollar. The secondary currently featured a series of solid players but no true stars. Minkah Fitzpatrick has a chance to be a star. Putting him in the slot with all the other talent throughout the roster just seems unfair, but the Eagles are in a position to bolster their already-stacked roster.
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