*Walt taking 2014 and 2018 |
Charlie Campbell, Senior Draft Analyst |
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Minkah Fitzpatrick Not Seen As Dynamic Talent for Teams Picking in the Top 10
Updated March 1, 2018
By Charlie Campbell. Follow Charlie on Twitter @draftcampbell.
A year ago, Alabama defensive lineman Jonathan Allen was one of the consensus top players for the 2017 NFL Draft. Allen was coming off a tremendous two-year stretch for Alabama, and the consensus in the NFL media was that Allen would be a top-10 pick. Allen ended up sliding, as teams had concerns about his shoulders and felt he wasn’t a dynamic athlete. This year, some team sources have the same feeling about Crimson Tide safety/cornerback Minkah Fitzpatrick. Sources from two teams picking in the top-10 said that Fitzpatrick is a really good player, but isn’t a dynamic athlete.
There has been some debate about Fitzpatrick playing outside cornerback along with being a free safety and a slot corner. Working out as an outside cornerback and looking fluid there could help Fitzpatrick, as some team sources don’t feel that he has the size, speed and athleticism of an elite top-of-the-draft player. In his final season for Alabama, Fitzpatrick totaled 60 tackles, one interception, eight passes broken up and a forced fumble. One general manager of a top-10 team said, “I just don’t see a dynamic player.” A national scout of another top-10 team who had Fitzpatrick in his area stated, “I don’t think he’s dynamic. He’s very good, but not dynamic to me.”
Safeties can slide in the draft, and a year ago, Ohio State’s Malik Hooker fell in the first round, with teams viewing him as a dynamic athlete and player. Hooker’s slide was in part from being injured in the lead up to the draft. Between his position and what we saw a year ago with Hooker and Allen, some team sources feel it is possible that Fitzpatrick could end up going lower than the consensus view entering the final seven weeks before the draft.
