DB’s Steelers Mailbag: What’s Wrong with Minkah Fitzpatrick, Will Change of Scenery Help Mike Williams?
DB's Pittsburgh Steelers Mailbag: What's up with Minkah Fitzpatrick? Will a change of scenery help Mike Williams?
With the Pittsburgh Steelers fresh off the bye week, we are rolling into this months rendition of the mailbag. This installment covers a variety of different topics including the teams newest acquisitions at the trade deadline buzzer, Preston Smith and Mike Williams, the lack of splash plays for Minkah Fitzpatrick, a look-ahead to the 2025 NFL Draft and much more!
As always, I sincerely appreciate all of the responses that brought interesting topics to the forefront here. Here we go.
Q: Why was Mike Williams production down in New York with Aaron Rodgers? Do you think he just needed a change of scenery?
A: Based on the contract that the New York Jets shelled out to Mike Williams, who was still recovering from a season-ending ACL injury, it’s apparent that they thought he would be back to 100% by the start of the season. That was not the case and that misjudgment costed them financially. Aaron Rodgers is someone who has done things his way for a long time and Williams wasn’t ever able to get on the same wavelength as his quarterback after missing all of OTAs and most of training camp. When you combine that with the fact that he looks about 80% of his physical peak, you can understand why his production was uninspiring.
From Pittsburgh’s standpoint, the move makes sense because Williams trump card has always been his ability to play above the rim and win downfield. When you look at how the offense has shifted to a more “bombs away” approach with Russell Wilson at quarterback, the theoretical fit is a good one. Even with modern medicine, everyone recovers from injuries on different timelines but usually players don’t feel like themselves right away. The Steelers are betting that Williams morphs back into form as the season progresses and gives them another threat on the boundary other than George Pickens. On the surface, it feels like a slight overpay but if he makes some splash plays during a playoff push, it’s worth it.
RELATED: Mike Williams is Thankful to Have a QB Like Russell Wilson
Q: The Preston Smith acquisition came out of left field. Do you think it’s possibly an indictment on Nick Herbig’s performance and health? Or is he just a replacement for DeMarvin Leal?
When Nick Herbig has been on the field this season, he’s been impactful and based on him being a limited participant in practice this week, it sounds as if he’ll be ready to roll soon. To me, this is a move that is being made to provide depth and it’s one that I really like the more that dive into the film. Preston Smith is 6-foot-5, 270 pounds equipped with 34-inch arms and is a different style of player than the other guys at this position on the roster. At his age, he’s probably more suited for a rotational role but at the same time, he just accumulated 52 pressures and eight sacks just last season, all while being a functional run defender.
To be clear, his advanced metrics have been really poor this year as the Packers transitioned into a different scheme but I’m still surprised that no other organization was interested in acquiring him at this price. Think about it like this: three of Pittsburgh’s top four edge rushers have already been hurt at some point this season and T.J. Watt is currently playing a career-high 92% of their defensive snaps. At the bare minimum, Smith should be able to come in and play 15 snaps per game for them, similar to what Markus Golden gave them last year, and keep the starters fresh while still providing some level of impact on a lower overall volume. This is cheap and quality insurance for their most important defensive position.
Q: What do you make of Minkah Fitzpatrick’s impact so far this year? Do the lack of splash plays concern you?
A: I understand some of the frustration surrounding Fitzpatrick’s lack of splash plays but he’s such a key part of a defense that’s performed admirably so far this season. The Steelers put so much on his plate by being so static and predictable from a schematic standpoint. If you’re going to play so much single high, you need a post safety that has extreme range to help keep a lid on some of those shot plays. He’s also been outstanding filling the run from depth and his missed tackle rate is extremely low. Teams are mostly just avoiding him right now to reduce his impact and that’s why some other teams don’t treat this position as a premium one. I’m not worried.
RELATED: Steelers DC Teryl Austin Thinks the Splash Eventually Will Come for Minkah Fitzpatrick
Q: How good has Beanie Bishop been? Have we put too much stock into the interceptions in recent weeks?
A: Over the first five weeks of the season, I was pretty concerned by what Beanie Bishop was putting on film and thought that opposing offenses would begin picking on him a bit. There were times where he was getting beat in coverage, whether it was in man situations or him not getting proper depth in zone coverage. But to his credit, he’s been much better since that point and those two interceptions versus the New York Jets were massive plays that helped swing the game in the Steelers favor. Now where does all of this leave him in the defensive back hierarchy with Cam Sutton now back in the fold? It’s hard to tell. I could see them splitting time but it’s also possible that they’re on the field simultaneously in dime packages. The coaches will have to figure that stuff out but depth is a good problem to have in November.
Q: Do you think the Steelers will look to re-sign Dan Moore Jr. this offseason? He’s having an outstanding season.
A: Dan Moore Jr. has certainly elevated his play this game and sustained that success over a larger period of time than years prior. It’s tough to see them ponying up cash to bring him back after they just drafted tackles in back to back years of the NFL Draft. The good news is that this Arthur Smith’s system is tackle friendly, Troy Fautanu should be healthy next season and maybe Broderick Jones eventually figures things out. I think they need a contingency plan in the form of a veteran but Moore may price himself out of that category. I could see the Steelers fetching a nice compensatory pick for him in return which is more than we all expected coming into the fall.
Q: What archetype of receiver should the Steelers be targeting in the NFL Draft next year? Are there any names that you like early on in the process?
A: The answer to your question partially depends on who the quarterback is next season but I think it has to be someone that can play outside on the ball. With Calvin Austin’s emergence, Roman Wilson in year two and even Pat Freiermuth to an extent, they have enough bodies inside already. Ideally, adding a route runner or yards after catch guy would be a good compliment to what they have in George Pickens but obviously would be awesome if they could get both those skills sets in one. A name that I continue to bring up is Utah State’s Jalen Royals, who should be selected on day two of the NFL Draft. He’s got some route running chops, can make plays with the ball in his hands and is super reliable from a hands perspective.
Q: Who is the top interior defensive lineman in this draft class?
A: For teams looking for a three-technique, Michigan’s Mason Graham has the goods and was one of the best overall players I watched during summer scouting. He’s quick off the ball with violent hands and an extremely stout, NFL-ready run defender. Graham isn’t the longest guy but he makes up for it in other areas and he’s added to his pass rush toolbox. Because he’s likely to get off the board by the time Pittsburgh is on the clock, I’d recommend checking out Walter Nolan from Ole Miss. This is a guy who seems to have turned a corner this season and looks like the player we expected he’d become as a top recruit coming out of high school.
Q: Who is the best day-two quarterback in the upcoming draft class?
A: Full disclosure, this was a pretty underwhelming class in my eyes during the summer and not much has changed during the season in that regard which means guys are going to get unnecessarily over drafted because there are so many teams in the hunt. Alabama’s Jalen Milroe started the year off hot and then has since cooled down but I still think the traits are pretty tantalizing. He’s a multi-year starter with a live arm, is an dangerous runner of the football has solid size for the position. Ironically, he has some of the same strengths (accurate deep ball thrower and scrambler/designed run threat) and weaknesses (processing, pocket navigation) as current Steelers backup Justin Fields, which may mean that the organization would potentially take a chance on him. This class isn’t quite as dreadful as the 2022 class was but for all intents and purposes, you should hope that the Steelers aren’t desperate for one come April.
Read This Next
