Sixth in a daily series leading into the 2020 NFL Draft, April 23-25:
The reason the Steelers don't have a first-round pick in this year's draft is because they shipped it to the Dolphins as part of the package to acquire safety Minkah Fitzpatrick.
And you know what? They're more than OK with that.
"Under the current circumstances, the uncertainty of the player you might be taking, not having all of the information you would have had in the past, I’m a lot more comfortable knowing we got an All-Pro player with that pick," GM Kevin Colbert said.
Fitzpatrick, acquired after Week 2, went on to be an All-Pro at free safety, becoming the first Steelers player in the secondary to be so honored since Troy Polamalu in 2011.
Partnered with strong safety Terrell Edmunds, the team's No. 1 pick in the 2018 draft, the Steelers feel they have a young and talented safety tandem that's only going to continue to get better. Like Edmunds, Fitzpatrick was selected in the first round of the 2018 draft. Both also are just 23 years old and have played a large number of snaps in their first two seasons.
But behind them, there isn't much depth. Special teams ace Jordan Dangerfield was re-signed as a free agent, but his four career starts are the only ones of any other true safety on the roster not named Fitzpatrick or Edmunds. Marcus Allen, a fifth-round pick in that 2018 draft, has spent most of his time on the practice squad, and while the Steelers could play corners Cam Sutton or Mike Hilton at safety in a pinch, that's hardly ideal.
Sean Davis, who was injured in a Week 2 loss to the Seahawks, prompting the trade for Fitzpatrick, would have been a perfect third safety, but he signed a one-year, $5-million deal in free agency to join the Redskins.
That means the Steelers could look to the draft to add another player to the position who they could throw into the mix as a backup.
There are five safeties who are considered second-round-or-better prospects -- Minnesota's Antoine Winfield Jr., Xavier McKinney of Alabama, Grant Delpit of LSU, Jeremy Chinn of Southern Illinois and Kyle Dugger of Lenoir-Rhyne.
Winfield, the son of longtime Bills, Vikings and Seahawks corner Antoine Winfield Sr., could interest the Steelers. His father played for Mike Tomlin when Tomlin was the Vikings' defensive coordinator in 2006.
"I love the way Winfield plays," said NFL.com draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah. "When you study him this year, I keep coming back to this one play that just stood out to me at the end of the Fresno State game where you see his instincts. He kind of baits the quarterback, wheels around and picks off the ball to finish it. His ability to play in the slot gives him some versatility there, as well. He does have some missed tackles, but overall I think he's a really, really solid player."
California's Ashtyn Davis might be the wildcard at the position. Davis might have been considered among that top group had he not undergone groin surgery in December. Davis wasn't ready to work out at the NFL Scouting Combine and planned to do so at California's pro day. That was canceled due to the coronavirus outbreak, meaning teams might not be sure if he's healed or know just how good he is based simply off his tape.
Davis, a former track star, might be the best pure free safety in the draft, but those injury questions remain because the NFL also canceled the post-combine medical examinations.
"I've played corner, I've played nickel, even WILL in a couple of packages and obviously safety, so I think that I'm comfortable everywhere on the field but I think that my deep defense is my best attribute," Davis said.
Other mid-round prospects include Clemson's K'Von Wallace, Brandon Jones of Texas and the Utah duo of Terrell Burgess and Julian Blackmon.
Another interesting prospect is former West Virginia star Kenny Robinson. A Wilkinsburg native and graduate of Imani Christian High School, Robinson was a two-year starter for the Mountaineers before he got into trouble for academic fraud and was kicked out of school.
Instead of enrolling at another school -- he had numerous offers, including one from Alabama -- Robinson decided to play in the XFL this spring. In five XFL games, Robinson intercepted a pair of passes for the St. Louis BattleHawks, continuing to show the ball skills he displayed at West Virginia, where he had seven interceptions.
But because his college class had not yet graduated, Robinson wasn't eligible to be signed after the XFL folded and has to be drafted or signed after the draft.
He's expected to be chosen between the fourth and sixth rounds.
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