Should the Chiefs look at S Minkah Fitzpatrick as a CB?

[Megatron96]

So I've come around to the idea that we might need to address the CB situation sooner rather than later.

In that vein, I was wondering what we think of S Minkah Fitzpatrick of the Miami Dolphins.

6' 1" 200 lbs.

2018 stats
80 tackles
9 pass defended
2 INTs

I know, he's listed as a safety. But last year, out of 1,000 snaps played, he actually played over the slot and on the boundary in nearly 700 snaps. And when he was targeted, he allowed just a 51% completion rate, and a QB rating of only 49%. Okay, 49.7%.

And while he's still got 3 years to go on his contract, he looks cheap, at about 3-4 million/year.

Maybe a solid possibility?

[Chris Meck]

Originally Posted by Buckweath

I'd be all for trading for Fitzpatrick but you have to seriously consider whether you want to resign Fuller or not before you do that. Plus, you might still need to trade for PP or another decent outside corner.

Yeah, thinking twice, you likely cannot trade for 2 CBs this season so I dont know.

I think PP is perfect for this team taking into account everything. Will he be available? That's the question.

Fitzpatrick gives you real flexibility cap-wise. You can not re-sign Fuller, OR you can let Mathieu walk in another couple years and have a killer safety duo with him and Thornhill. Or you can do both depending on how the draft and free-agency pan out over the next couple seasons.

It doesn't hurt your cap now, and doesn't preclude trading for a top corner now if that is a possibility.

[O.city]

Originally Posted by staylor26

Maybe because it’s a possibility that he’s not a full time outside corner, which is what we really need?

This is my thing. For a first round pick, I just....man I dunno. He's a really great player and he's diverse skillset wise, so that would be awesome.

But man I just dunno.

[The Franchise]

Originally Posted by BryanBusby

AFC West huh?

I don't think it would be Denver. 0-2 and I think the secondary is a ways down the list of problems in that shit hole. Whatever pick they would surrender would be high.

The Raiders have an extra 1 from Chicago, but are sans a 2 that they have to send back. You could make a case here, and the Raiders made some aggressive moves this year. I don't know if I see playoffs with them, though.

Chargers make sense. King, Hayward and Fitzpatrick would be a phenomenal secondary when they get Derwin James back from the foot aids.

Not really a pressing need, but would be a good boost. The Dolphins would probably be willing to pack in Drake if it meant a one in return and they would have more incentive to shop Gordon for whatever the **** offer they can get.

And they just lost another one of their safeties.

[Chris Meck]

Originally Posted by O.city

This is my thing. For a first round pick, I just....man I dunno. He's a really great player and he's diverse skillset wise, so that would be awesome.

But man I just dunno.

think of it like this-

If Minkah Fitzpatrick is available at #32, would you draft him?

**** yes you do. You have a less than stellar defense and he's a borderline top ten talent. More so actually, because he's already NFL proven.

He'd clearly be the best player available.

You guys are overthinking this.

[Sassy Squatch]

What are you muttonheaded chuckle****s talking about? The offer is for a 3rd and Ragland. Miami would be foolish to turn that down.

[O.city]

Originally Posted by Chris Meck

think of it like this-

If Minkah Fitzpatrick is available at #32, would you draft him?

**** yes you do. You have a less than stellar defense and he's a borderline top ten talent. More so actually, because he's already NFL proven.

He'd clearly be the best player available.

You guys are overthinking this.

Probably so.

But still, what position does he play?

[smithandrew051]

Originally Posted by Chris Meck

think of it like this-

If Minkah Fitzpatrick is available at #32, would you draft him?

**** yes you do. You have a less than stellar defense and he's a borderline top ten talent. More so actually, because he's already NFL proven.

He'd clearly be the best player available.

You guys are overthinking this.

The boat’s a boat...but the mystery box could be anything! It could even be a boat!

[Hammock Parties]

we are going to trade for fitzpatrick and make the dolphins pay for it

#winning
#bigly

[Chris Meck]

Originally Posted by O.city

Probably so.

But still, what position does he play?

what do you mean? He can play several roles.

I think people get way to hung up on 'position' versus 'role'. This isn't the NFL we grew up on. Things have changed. You can't just line up and play bump'n'run man coverage every play and our guys beat your guys. Modern defenses have to mix and match and disguise coverages to have any success. The more guys you have with multiple skill sets the better.

Mathieu is a good example; his value is in his versatility. Are there better deep safeties? yeah. But he's good there. Are there better box safeties? Yeah, but he's good there too. Are there better coverage guys for the slot? Yeah, but he's good there. He can even give you some outside coverage and do that pretty well too. Not Patrick Peterson good, but a few snaps here and there and he can make it work.

Same with Thornhill. Same with Fitzpatrick.

The era of the "shutdown corner" is over. It doesn't really exist within the current rule structure.

He can do several things at a high level. He can cover man, he can cover zone, he can play deep, he can play shallow. He can give you some outside responsibility, he can give you some slot capability.

As far as cap-wise in coming years, you can let Fuller walk when his deal is up and he can take that spot. Conceivably, when Honey Badger's deal is up, he can man that spot, depending on how you draft and develop over the next couple of seasons.

He's plus defensive talent, and stockpiling that while on rookie deals is always a good bet.

[O.city]

Originally Posted by Chris Meck

what do you mean? He can play several roles.

I think people get way to hung up on 'position' versus 'role'. This isn't the NFL we grew up on. Things have changed. You can't just line up and play bump'n'run man coverage every play and our guys beat your guys. Modern defenses have to mix and match and disguise coverages to have any success. The more guys you have with multiple skill sets the better.

Mathieu is a good example; his value is in his versatility. Are there better deep safeties? yeah. But he's good there. Are there better box safeties? Yeah, but he's good there too. Are there better coverage guys for the slot? Yeah, but he's good there. He can even give you some outside coverage and do that pretty well too. Not Patrick Peterson good, but a few snaps here and there and he can make it work.

Same with Thornhill. Same with Fitzpatrick.

The era of the "shutdown corner" is over. It doesn't really exist within the current rule structure.

He can do several things at a high level. He can cover man, he can cover zone, he can play deep, he can play shallow. He can give you some outside responsibility, he can give you some slot capability.

As far as cap-wise in coming years, you can let Fuller walk when his deal is up and he can take that spot. Conceivably, when Honey Badger's deal is up, he can man that spot, depending on how you draft and develop over the next couple of seasons.

He's plus defensive talent, and stockpiling that while on rookie deals is always a good bet.

You just get into the "jack of all trades, master of none" kinda thing. Yes, he can do a lot, is he really good at it all though? I don't know.

I won't really be that upset, a lot of draft guys said he is a really high level player, so if they make the move, fine.

But they need a CB that can really play outside and I dunno that he can.

[Chris Meck]

It's the same thing as the DL, when Veach and Spags talk about guys being able to play inside or outside.

You can create mismatches with your versatility.

Don't think of things in terms of traditional labeled positions so much as skillsets to be utilized in the scheme/packages.

[staylor26]

It’s a fair question though because you already have Thornhill, Mathieu, and Fuller who are more than fine in their roles.

If we trade for Fitzpatrick, it’s likely because they think he can play outside. I’m just not so sure that they think that.

[Chris Meck]

Originally Posted by O.city

You just get into the "jack of all trades, master of none" kinda thing. Yes, he can do a lot, is he really good at it all though? I don't know.

I won't really be that upset, a lot of draft guys said he is a really high level player, so if they make the move, fine.

But they need a CB that can really play outside and I dunno that he can.

that may well be true, but this isn't an either/or proposition.

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by O.city

Probably so.

But still, what position does he play?

What's wrong with having another hybrid player?

Maybe Fitzpatrick plays the slot and Fuller plays boundary full-time, replacing Ward.

Maybe Fitzpatrick plays S and they rotate Thornhill to a boundary corner position playing Ward's snaps.

Maybe they have a hybrid 4-1-6 scheme in mind where they play 3 safeties and 3 CB and can move the S all over the place.

[Hoover]

I think this is a no brainer for a number of reasons.

He either replaces Fuller next year for pennies on the dollar, or you now have Fuller at CB#2 and this dude in the slot, I don't really know what's not to like.