Pittsburgh Steelers All-Pro, TJ Watt’s reign is officially over. After winning the team’s annual MVP award three consecutive seasons, there is a new winner in 2022. Unsurprisingly, Minkah Fitzpatrick is this year’s winner. Watt finished top-three in the Defensive Player of the Year voting all three of those years, so no one else really had a shot at the award.
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Of course, the star edge rusher has been banged up all season, missing seven games. It may not have mattered though, as Fitzpatrick has been a man on a mission this year. He was voted as a starter for the AFC squad in this year’s Pro Bowl Games. For the second time in his last five games, Fitzpatrick clinched the Week 17 game against the Baltimore Ravens with an interception.
On the season, the stud safety now has six interceptions, which tied for the league lead. It's also a new career-high, surpassing the five INT's that he had in 2019, his first season in Pittsburgh. He's also tied his career-high in pass deflections with 11, despite missing two games earlier in the season. Fitzpatrick seems well on his way to earning his third All-Pro appearance since joining Pittsburgh in 2019.
Fitzpatrick missed the Pro Bowl last year, which happened to be his worst season with the team. He was asked to play a different role, having to come up in the box and make his presence felt in the running game a bit more. As a result, his 124 combined tackles in 2021 were the most of any non-linebacker in the NFL. This season, that number is back down to 86.
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It's allowed him to return to what he does best, making plays on the back end of the secondary. Pro Football Focus rates Fitzpatrick as the second-best safety in the league in 2022. He's already proved to be well-worth the four-year, $73.6 million extension that general manager Omar Khan signed him to last off-season. The deal made him the highest-paid safety in NFL history at the time, and he's followed it up with the best season of his career thus far.
Fitzpatrick becomes the fourth safety to win the Steelers MVP award, joining Troy Polamalu, Donnie Shell, and Glen Edwards. At this point, he seems well on his way to joining those guys in the black and gold's prestigious all-time ranks. Fans should forever be grateful for the Miami Dolphins organization. Congratulations to Fitzpatrick!
Just how impactful has Fitzpatrick been this season? Do you think he's the best safety in the NFL? Where does he rank amongst the Steelers' all-time great DB's? Share your thoughts below and congratulate Fitzpatrick on his phenomenal season!
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