DeShon & Minkah

[iceman43]

Well it’s not that pronounced a difference. It’s not like Joker is Bernard Pollard and Minkah is Ed Reed.

On that continuum:
Ed Reed
.
.
.
Minkah
.
Deshon
.
Chuck Clark
.
.
.
Bernard Pollard,
where the two extremes are further from these three are than they are from each other in play style. I feel pretty comfortable with that order and spacing. All three of these guys are versatile interchangeable defenders that can do it all to some degree.


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Yeah that looks bout right

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[WNCRavensFan]

I remember at draft time that the story wasn't Minkah vs DeShon Elliott - it was Terrell Edmunds vs DeShon Elliott.

The Steelers reached for Edmunds in round 1. Most people had a 3rd round grade on him. I suppose they thought another team behind them was going to draft him. Edmunds has been okay so far... certainly more available than Joker, but not a star.

Elliott also had a 3rd round grade. He fell to round 6. Judging by all the games he's missed early on, I'd guess he had a medical red flag that caused him to drop. But purely as players, I think he's better than Edmunds. Edmunds is the better athlete but Joker is smarter and more instinctive.

[Brtnder81]

I'm a couple years late to the party on this one. But here's something I don't understand:

drill	Minkah Fitz	Deshon Elliott
Draft Rd	1st	6th
Height:	72-1/8 inches	72-7/8
Weight:	204	205
Wingspan:	75.125	77.75
40 Dash	4.46	4.58
10 Split	1.52	1.59
Vertical	33.0	36.0
Broad	121	121
Bench	14	15

I got no problem with Minkah being a 1st. But how is DeShon a 6th??

Football isnt played at the combine

[Culex]

Football isnt played at the combine

Preach

[Raveninwoodlawn]

High 4.5's is a fine speed for an NFL safety. Hell, Ed Reed ran practically the same 40 time.

Main difference between the 2 are 2 things...Minkah played quite a bit of corner at Bama and Miami, and he obviously has terrific instincts for the ball with better hips/fluidity. FTR, Miami had no idea how to play the kid, making him a slot corner basically full time was a gross misuse of his skills...I remember even here on this board, people who wanted us to trade for him wanted him to play slot corner when I was saying dude is a playmaking safety and an average NFL corner. Props to Pitt for having common sense and sticking him at safety and keeping him there.

I don't think Elliot played much if any corner in college or the pro's. He did make quite a few plays his senior year though. His hips are stiffer which is what limits him a bit in coverage, not necessarily his pure speed. There's no way a kid with his productivity and solid athletic numbers should have lasted till the 6th round unless he indeed wasn't getting the best feedback from his coaches to NFL teams. I thought he was a 3rd/4th round guy before the draft.

[WNCRavensFan]

Look at the other safeties drafted before Elliott:

2nd (54) CIN - Jessie Bates
3rd (68) HOU - Justin Reid
3rd (82) DET - Tracy Walker
3rd (93) JAX - Ronnie Harrison
3rd (95) SF - Tarvarius Moore
4th (109) WAS - Troy Apke
4th (117) TAM - Jordan Whitehead
4th (119) LAC - Kyzir White
4th (124) KC - Armani Watts
5th (146) SEA - Tre Flowers
5th (148) PIT - Marcus Allen
5th (164) NO - Natrell Jamerson
6th (184) SF - Marcell Harris

How many of these guys would you have drafted before him?

[iceman43]

I remember at draft time that the story wasn't Minkah vs DeShon Elliott - it was Terrell Edmunds vs DeShon Elliott.

The Steelers reached for Edmunds in round 1. Most people had a 3rd round grade on him. I suppose they thought another team behind them was going to draft him. Edmunds has been okay so far... certainly more available than Joker, but not a star.

Elliott also had a 3rd round grade. He fell to round 6. Judging by all the games he's missed early on, I'd guess he had a medical red flag that caused him to drop. But purely as players, I think he's better than Edmunds. Edmunds is the better athlete but Joker is smarter and more instinctive.

That's a great assessment

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[RavensNest]

Yeah he did NOT get along with Tom Herman. Holton Hill was also in that same boat with Herman if I recall correctly.

Not shocking. Tom Herman is a huge piece of shit.

[GOTA]

Since when is drafting all about drills and physical size?

[PTORaven]

Since when is drafting all about drills and physical size?

since Al Davis

[PTORaven]

Since when is drafting all about drills and physical size?

since Al Davis

[wickedsolo]

To answer the OP's question, there are three primary reasons (IMO).

1 - Pedigree. Minkah went to Alabama, which for the last decade or more has produced top-flight defensive talent and star power. Minkah won 2 national championships at Bama, was 2 time All American, 2 time First Team SEC, Chuck Bednarik Award winner, and Jim Thorpe award winner. Texas is a good program, but it hasn't been the same caliber of program since Mack Brown. DeShon doesn't have those accolades.

2 - Versatility. In college, Minkah played corner, slot/nickel, sub-linebacker, and safety. I don't recall Deshon ever playing anything other than safety - although, he was a very good safety at Texas. I remember him always being around the ball and making things happen.

3 - Speed/Athleticism. Minkah had a 6.73 3-cone and a 4.13 shuttle. DeShon, from what I am able to find, didn't run those drills at the combine or at his pro-day. However, some combine/draft sites had him projected at a 7.22 3-cone and a 4.46 shuttle run. If we go by that and by their respective 40-times, Minkah Fitzpatrick is much more athletic without sacrificing a tremendous amount of size when compared to Deshon.


-------------
Now that I'm thinking about it, when was the last elite-level player to come out of Texas? Our own Justin Tucker...and he wasn't drafted. Seriously, I just went back all the way to 2010 and Justin Tucker is hands down THE best prospect to come out of the Texas football program in a decade. The other guy would be Earl Thomas, drafted in 2010.

The latest pro-bowler from Texas was Michael Dickson, a punter for the Seahawks who drafted him in 2018. Hassan Ridgeway has been a decent defensive tackle.

The 2015 draft produced LB Jordan Hicks who has been decent, but oft-injured. CB/S Quandre Diggs also came out in this draft. Diggs has been an above avg defensive back by my estimation.

No one in 2014 was drafted from Texas. In 2013 there was Kenny Vaccaro, Marquise Goodwin, and Alex Okafor.

Anyway...yea...not a tremendous amount of talent coming out of Texas for a while. Maybe Devin Duvernay will change that tide.