Let’s discuss Minkah

Agree on Highsmith. Watt and Herbig would be good, but still gonna need more depth at OLB. Do Steelers have Preston Smith for 2025?

 

Yes but his cap hit in 2025 is 13,400M. For 2026 if still here 14,100M. If they release him this season they owe him nothing, and rumor has it that's what will happen. Maybe they can bring him back at a lower amount.

 

Herbig is too small to hold up against the run as a starter.

 

Herbig is only a double cheeseburger lighter than Highsmith

 

Wrong, Highsmith has bulked up since he got to the league.

 

And so has Herbig

Negligible

 

Highsmith is probably up to 255lbs or more, Herbig isn't close to that .

 

Are just making up numbers again

 

The league loves him so trade him for a couple of picks.

 

This.

 

I keep reading get rid of Minkah comments and I am still not seeing the massive elephant in the room being addressed here. Assuming the Steelers do indeed move on from Minkah, that automatically makes Safety one of the highest priorities in the draft. As I have been on record in stating since the beginning of the 2024, only Malakai Starks is capable of replicating what Minkah does for Malakai's closest comparison is Minkah Fitzpatrick. Thing is..... Malakai is a turbocharged Minkah Fitzpatrick. Here in lies the problem for Malakai; creativity.


As @Steel_Elvis correctly pointed out, how many more times will the Steelers employ Minkah 20+ yards deep to play that role?! Using the assumed first round selection of Malakai, how many times will they have Malakai do the same thing?! Minkah isn't 100% the problem. The lack of creativity of the Defense is.


Grady Brown being fired feels nothing more than a sacrificial lamb at this point. Gerald Alexander did aid in the progression of Tre'von Moehrig along with Troy's cousin in Isaiah Pola Mao but that was exclusively as the safeties coach for Las Vegas in 2024. He does have a connection though being the teams Assistant Defensive Backs coach from 2022 to 2023. However, what good that will do.


Long story short?! Players can only do so much within the scheme they play. Even great players can struggle when put into a scheme they are simply not capable of adapting to.


Minkah's lack of production has been a talking point but Mike Tomlin's lack of innovation on defense is a point of emphasis that needs addressed.... if it ever does get to that.

 

Isn’t this pretty much what the Eagles did

 

Not entirely.


Chauncey Gardner Johnson was used as a Deep Safety but not one that was off by 20+ yards. If anything, Vic Fangios safeties tend to be more aggressive with Safeties than other traditional safeties of other schemes. Playing towards the ball as opposed to preventing the deep ball is what Vics Safeties have often done.


That said, Vic has also had a storied background in Corners.