Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Ready to dig in
Fitzpatrick brings flexibility to Dolphins’ defense.
DAVIE — Minkah Fitzpatrick’s father is a diesel mechanic who also does construction and plumbing work on the side, so the Miami Dolphins’ newest safety grew up around tools and isn’t a stranger to getting his hands dirty.
The Dolphins’ 2018 first-round pick worked with his father in the garage, and assisted him with his side hustles often. He claims he’s pretty good at fixing things, and working with his hands.
“I’ve never changed brakes before. If my dad showed me what to do, I could do it right after him,” Fitzpatrick said of his father, who shares the same name. “My father does most of the diagnosing. He’d say, ‘Hey man, do this, this and this,’ and I would just do it.”
The Dolphins plan to put those claims to the test because Miami selected Fitzpatrick with the draft’s 11th pick, hoping that the player General Manager Chris Grier labeled a “Swiss Army Knife” could tighten the screws on a leaky defense, one which allowed opposing quarterbacks to produce a 94.8 cumulative passer rating — the fifthworst in the NFL — grabbed the fifth-fewest interceptions (nine) and struggled defending athletic tight ends and quick tailbacks.
Exactly where and how Fitzpatrick, who contributed 171 tackles, nine interceptions and forced two fumbles in his three seasons at Alabama, fits in is yet to be determined,
considering he played safety, boundary cornerback and nickel cornerback throughout his collegiate career.
Grier claims he’s a free safety, a position Miami hasn’t had a good player at since Renaldo Hill, who coincidentally was added to Miami’s coaching staff as the assistant secondary coach.
When Fitzpatrick was asked where he best fits in with an NFL defense he quickly answered, “on the football field.”
How that pans out could become complicated since Miami has four young cornerbacks — Xavien Howard, Cordrea Tankersley, Tony Lippett and Bobby McCain — who all have starting experience. That foursome has collectively started 65 games the past three seasons.
McCain, a three-year starter who primarily works as Miami’s nickel cornerback, is Miami’s most seasoned veteran in that unit, starting 19 NFL games.
The Dolphins’ two starting safeties — Reshad Jones and T.J. McDonald — both return, and while Miami’s coaches weren’t comfortable with how that pair played together in 2017, nobody on the staff is ready to give up on them excelling together yet.
The hope is that McDonald plays better now that he’s not limited to playing half the season because of a suspension, as he did last year, and that he and Jones, a two-time pro Bowler, learn how to complement one another.
There has been talk about McDonald playing more in the box, accepting a sudo-linebacker role like the one he played with the Los Angeles Rams in 2016, but according to head coach Adam Gase that would be done in a 4-2-5 scheme more than as part of a complete position change.
“T.J. is playing safety. If we have to make adjustments somewhere [scheme-wise],” Gase said before abruptly stopping himself from tipping the team’s hand. “He’s not moving to linebacker. He’s going to be a safety and then we’re going to figure out a way to get our best 11 players on the field. How it all plays out, I can’t tell you right now, because what you think right now and what it ends up being in the first week of the season can change quickly. We learned that last year on both sides of the ball.”
That means Jones, McDonald and Fitzpatrick will be competing to determine who the two starting safeties are, and if the Dolphins conclude all three safeties are among the best 11 defenders the team has, Miami will use a 4-2-5 scheme — which features four defensive linemen, two linebackers and five defensive backs — as its base package.
Taking that approach leaves the team some wiggle room in case injuries or suspensions surface.
“It was instilled in me just to work hard,” said Fitzpatrick, one of the 16 participating in Miami’s rookie orientation this weekend. “It doesn’t matter what you’re doing, whether it be stuff on the field or off the field. It’s just been in my blood since I was young. I carry it over to football.”