Minkah Fitzpatrick – July 26, 2019
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Friday, July 26, 2019
S Minkah Fitzpatrick
(It takes a lot of selfless guys to be in different groups and moving around different positions. How long did it take to get a roster full of those guys? Do you feel like you have one here?) – “Yeah, I mean it takes time. We had it at ‘Bama’ (University of Alabama). It’s the same exact thing. We had a lot of guys that moved around, and it took time because one: people have got to learn the system. People have got to get comfortable with it. Then like you said, you’ve got to have guys who are willing to bend and do different things and have different roles. And I think everybody here is more than willing because most of the guys that are doing it have done it already. We did it a lot last year, guys in different roles when people went down. So I think we’ve got it now, and we’re doing a good job.”
(You’re good at a lot of things. Last year, what the numbers show is you were exceptional in the slot. Do you like that? You’re obviously still doing that a lot.) – “Yeah, I like it. Like you said, I did it a lot in college. I did it a lot last year. I’m comfortable there. I have a lot of experience there. I think that’s what gives me a good edge, just going out there and competing. I just love doing that. You’re going against some of the best guys in the slot, some of the fastest, quickest guys in the slot, and you get to do multiple things. You get to play the run, you get to cover, you get to rush, so I love it out there.”
(Do you have any sense how much you’re going to play on the boundary this year at corner?) – “No, sir.”
(Unsure at this point?) – “Yeah. I mean nobody knows where we’ll be playing right now. It’s the second day of training camp.”
(Is being on the field all the time important to you because obviously this team is deep in defensive backs, safeties and corners to an extent?) – “It is. I think anybody that plays this game is going to want to be out there all of the time, especially when you put as much time as I do in, and I think it’s important to be out there. It’s important to have the best players out there, and that’s what camp is for – to decide who the best players are.”
(What’s the most important skill you need to have to play the slot?) – “To play the slot? I don’t think there’s one thing. There’s a lot. You’ve got to be able to cover well. You’ve got to know the scheme of the defense. You can’t just know the slot. You’ve got to know what’s going on inside of you, outside of you, behind you. It’s a lot of different things. You can’t just have one thing in the slot.”
(Is there more thinking involved in the slot than outside?) – “Yeah, (there is) in ways because like I said, at corner, all you really need to know is – in certain coverages – you need to know who is behind you. In certain coverages you need to know who is inside of you; but in the slot, you’ve got to know what the linebacker is doing, the d-end’s run fit, the corner outside and the safety behind you. So it’s a little bit more thinking I would say. So yeah, I’ll agree to that.”
(Are you doing anything at safety so far?) – “Yeah. I’m all over the place. I’ve been doing different looks at safety, whether it be up on the line, a linebacker back in the half, covering the half, covering receivers in the slot, so a lot of different things.”
(You saw WR Jakeem Grant last year when he was healthy and playing well. What made him tough to defend?) – “What do you think?” (laughter)
(I would think quickness. Is it more quickness or more speed?) – “That’s it, man. It’s everything. He’s quick, he’s fast – like quick in and out of breaks. He’s low. That’s one thing that really helps him because he’s already low, and he plays low, so when you try to get hands on him, he’s ducking under you, he’s doing different things. He’s in and out of breaks really fast, and if he wants to run straight line, he’s got the speed to beat you straight line. So I’ll say it’s a combination of his quickness and his long speed.”
(How are WR Jakeem Grant’s hands? Would you say improving? Really good?) – “He has really good hands. We have him back there at punt returner for a reason: he can catch the ball in tough situations. I haven’t seen too many dropped balls out of him since I’ve been here, so he has great hands.”
(In what one area do you want to make improvement?) – “I would say just I like to play fast, but some of the coaches have been telling me playing fast isn’t always the best thing, especially when you’re moving around a lot. It’s more of being able to process everything, relax and be able to play off your instincts. When you’re playing fast, you speed things up, you think too much, and you start tripping over your own feet. When you slow things down, break things down, know the defense, are comfortable, you honestly play faster than if you’re trying to fly all over the place. So I think just knowing the scheme, getting comfortable with the scheme and being able to play calm and react.”
(How confusing can this defense be for opponents and how confusing can it be for you guys moving around so much?) – “It can be really confusing. We throw a lot of different looks. I can’t really say too much, but we throw a lot of different looks at offenses and the quarterbacks – they’re asking us questions after practice, like ‘what was this, what was that, what was this, what was that?’ And we break it down to them and tell them, and they’re like, ‘oh, man, that’s crazy.’ But at the same time, like you said, it’s tough on us because we are moving around a lot, playing different roles, switching up roles every day, so it’s tough mentally, but it’s worth it in the long run.”
(For you, does being so versatile sometimes have its downfalls in some ways where you’re not able to get so many things you’re looking at and you may want to hone in on one thing and get really, really good at it?) – “I think just playing defensive back, you have to know everything that’s going on around you. I think if you want to be a great safety, and just a great safety, you’ve got to know what everybody’s doing around you. If you want to be a great corner, you’ve got to know what everybody’s doing around you, so even if you want to hone in on one position, you have to know what everybody else is doing around you. If you’re trying to be great at being a football player – a playmaker – know what everybody’s doing, and you’ll be able to play fast, play comfortable, and that’s it, really.”
(Early in this conversation, you kind of expressed an interest or a preference to play nickel instead of boundary, but what could you provide at the boundary position if you do play more there?) – “I never said I preferred (nickel). I was just saying this is what I played a lot. I had a lot of experience in there. I’m a cover guy. I was one of the top slot cover guys in the league last year. I had a lot of experience outside in the boundary last year when some people went down, and I think I could provide a lot out there.”
(You had that pick, too. A pick-six, right?) – “I was at slot. I was at nickel.”
(So there’s no preference? Do you have a preference?) – “I like being on the field, making plays, doing my job. That’s it.”
