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CBS Sports released their NFL All Under 25 Defensive Team yesterday, and to no surprise, Steelers free safety Minkah Fitzpatrick made the list.
"I had Fitzpatrick as the No. 3 ranked safety in the entire NFL in a piece written earlier this offseason, so he's naturally on this list as well," Tyler Sullivan of CBS Sports wrote. "While he was always a great safety, he was unleashed following his trade to Pittsburgh. He's earned back-to-back All-Pro nods and has become a dangerous piece in the Steelers secondary. During his first full season in Pittsburgh last year, he totaled four interceptions through 16 games played (all starts) and a career-high 11 pass breakups. It was a coin flip if opposing quarterbacks were going to be able to complete a pass when throwing into his area as he notched a 50% completion percentage in 2020 with a 65.7 passer rating. That's not just great for his age, but for any safety in the league."
Fitzpatrick has been everything the Steelers had hoped for when they traded with the Dolphins for him in September of 2019. He's been named first-team All-Pro the last two seasons and has established himself as one of the best safeties in the game. Since arriving to Pittsburgh, Fitzpatrick has recorded nine interceptions, 20 passes defended and three defensive touchdowns
Fitzpatrick also made Nick Shook of NFL.com's 2021 All-Under-25 Team.
"Fitzpatrick makes an appearance on this list for the second year in a row. He's one of only two players with 10 or more interceptions and three or more returned for a touchdown since 2018, joining Marcus Peters in this rare company," Shook wrote. "Fitzpatrick allowed the lowest completion percentage (45.5%) in the NFL last season, per Next Gen Stats (min. 30 targets). His ballhawk rate (the percentage of targets where the nearest defender made a pass defensed or interception) of 33.3 percent ranked third in the league, painting a picture of a complete safety with even more room to grow. It's truly remarkable that Fitzpatrick has done all of this and won't turn 25 until November."
Steelers inside linebacker Devin Bush was listed on Sullivan's second team for defensive players under the age of 25.