Minkah Fitzpatrick is perfect fit for Kansas City Chiefs
By Kole Berrey
Team Fit
The first thing to look at when talking about trading for any player is if he will fit what the team is doing. When examining if Minkah Fitzpatrick will fit in on the Chiefs defense, the answer is a resounding yes. The biggest reason for that is his versatility and strengths as a player.
Fitzpatrick’s best skillset is being a lock down slot corner. Last year, he graded out as one of the best slot corners in the entire league. He graded out first in completion percentage, first in passer rating allowed, and ninth in overall coverage grade playing out of the slot in 2018. That is elite production.
Chiefs fans may be hesitant to trade for another slot corner, as we already tried that with Kendall Fuller. The reason this makes more sense for the Chiefs, however, is Fitzpatrick’s versatility. That in itself is ironic, because that is the very reason he wants out of Miami.
Minkah Fitzpatrick told me this week he spoke to Dolphins about his role.
— Barry Jackson (@flasportsbuzz) September 13, 2019
And they reiterated it would change every single week, he said. Who would want that?
Fitzpatrick is disgruntled with Miami because he knows he is an elite slot corner, but they won’t let him focus on locking down that role. Instead, they want him to play both safety positions, inside and outside corner, and even some linebacker. It is overloading the former first round pick, and he knows it will make his play suffer.
The Dolphins are messing up though. They are trying to force Fitzpatrick to play the role of Swiss Army Knife.
When describing the role of Fitzpatrick, it should sound familiar to Chiefs fans. That is because it is the exact same role safety Mathieu WANTS to play for the Chiefs. That is why this is a perfect fit. He won’t be forced into a Swis Army Knife role, because the Chiefs already have that.
With the Chiefs, Fitzpatrick would man the slot, Fuller and Breeland would man the two outside corner spots, and Matheiu and Thornhill will man the back end.
This is the perfect compliment of versatility. Mathieu, Thornhill, and Fitzpatrick could play corner or safety on any given play. By allowing Fitzpatrick to play a majority of his snaps at slot, it keeps him in his most dominant role.
His versatility allows the Chiefs to not be predictable though. You never know when they will switch it up on you and move those players around. It may only happen a handful of snaps a game, but it will be enough for offensive coordinators to have to worry about.
It also allows the Chiefs to play match-ups more flexibly. If they feel in one specific week, Fuller is better suited to cover a slot receiver, they can kick Fitzpatrick out wide and role that way. They need to run three safeties? Great, throw Ward into the lineup and have Fitzpatrick man that safety spot.
By allowing him to take a majority of snaps in his best, most natural position, but also have the ability to be flexible, the Chiefs would add maybe the last missing piece to their defense. It doesn’t stop there, however. He fits this Kansas City team in more than just a pure football standpoint.