- With the departure of Marlon Humphrey from the secondary, Alabama CB Minkah Fitzpatrick will look to show his PFF Day 1 projected talent lining up inside and outside, to solidify his position as possibly the top cornerback in 2017.
- Fitzpatrick showed Day 1 ability to cover the deep ball last season, allowing a passer rating of only 10.1 on passes 20 or more yards downfield.
- His overall grade of 87.4 is tied for the highest among returning FBS cornerbacks. He was also graded higher than former teammate and the 16th pick in the 2017 NFL draft by the Baltimore Ravens in Humphrey (84.4).
- Fitzpatrick showed that he has elite coverage ability in 2016 as the only draft eligible cornerback ranked in the top 20 in each PFF signature coverage stat. 12th in yards per cover snap, 17th in cover snaps per target and 11th in cover snaps per reception.
- There is the issue of inexperience lining up outside for Fitzpatrick as he only lined at outside cornerback on 55 of his 534 coverage snaps and allowed one of his two touchdowns outside.
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