The Steelers made a big move today, trading for Dolphins defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick. In addition to Fitzpatrick, the Steelers get the Dolphins fourth-round pick in 2020 NFL Draft and their seventh-round pick in 2021.The Steelers sent the Dolphins their first-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, as well their fifth-round pick in 2020 and sixth-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. The trade will be official after Fitzpatrick passes a physical.
"We are very excited to add Minkah to our defense," said Steelers General Manager and Vice President, Kevin Colbert. "We had him rated very high during the 2018 NFL Draft process and we thought that he could be an impact player in this league."
The 22-year old Fitzpatrick was selected by the Dolphins in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft, the 11th pick overall. Fitzpatrick had five tackles in the Dolphins season opener against Baltimore and added six tackles against New England last week, with a forced fumble and fumble recovery.
Fitzpatrick played in 16 games in 2018, starting 11. He had 79 tackles, 50 of them solo stops, two interceptions, and nine pass defenses. Fitzpatrick picked off Kirk Cousins in the Dec. 16 matchup against Minnesota and returned it 50 yards for a touchdown. For his career, Fitzpatrick has 90 tackles, two interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery.
A three-year starter at Alabama, he played in 42 games, starting 38. He had 171 tackles, including 109 solo stops, four and a half sacks, nine interceptions, 35 pass defenses and two forced fumbles. He won the Jim Thorpe Award as the nation's top defensive back his final season and became the third player in NCAA history to win both the Chuck Bednarik and Jim Thorpe Awards, joining Charles Woodson and Patrick Peterson with that honor. He was also a unanimous first-team All-American in 2017.
