J.J. Watt Touts Steelers’ Minkah Fitzpatrick as ‘Best Safety in the Game’

J.J. Watt has some high praise for Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, believing that the Steelers safety is the best safety the NFL has to offer right now. Becoming a CBS NFL Analyst following his retirement from the NFL, Watt talked to the outlet and had plenty of praise for Fitzpatrick and what he can do for an NFL defense right now.

“The Steelers have an incredible pass rush, and they have the best safety in the game in Minkah Fitzpatrick,” Watt said. ‘They’ve got guys all over the place … and when T.J.’s flying off that edge and making quarterbacks make poor decisions, that’s when they really click on all cylinders.”

Watt believes his brother, T.J., is the best defensive player in the entire league to no surprise. But it is what Fitzpatrick can do on the back end that Watt believes brings the entire Steelers defense together and to a new level. Quarterbacks have to know where Fitzpatrick is during the play and that is on top of wondering where the pass rush of Pittsburgh’s is in the pocket. It is not an easy task when Fitzpatrick can play everywhere on the field.

“My eyeballs,” Watt said. “The guy can cover anybody. He can make tackles. He can do anything. He sees the whole field. The way that he moves back there, as a safety, you kind of have to cover everybody and make sure that you see everything that’s going on. You have to be able to go over and cover for the corner if you have to and sometimes step up and fill the A gap. I think he sees the field extremely well. I don’t think he gets enough credit for that, even though he does get quite a bit of credit.”

Fitzpatrick is touted as nearly the unanimous top safety in the NFL right now. It is usually a debate between him and Derwin James from the Los Angeles Chargers, but after another All-Pro season in 2022, it is hard to argue that Fitzpatrick does not earn that title.