Ranking the 10 Best Alabama football NFL draft picks of the Nick Saban era
By Josh Yourish
![Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones (11) Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones (11)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_1776,h_999,x_78,y_239/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/187/01hv77wd0vj38eprjs8t.jpg)
Round: 1 Pick: 11. Minkah Fitzpatrick, FS. player. . . Minkah Fitzpatrick, FS. 59. Minkah Fitzpatrick. 2018. 4
The Miami Dolphins are not the team that benefitted from selecting Minkah Fitzpatrick, but for the player he turned into, he was a fantastic selection at No. 11 overall and an even better pickup for the Steelers a year later when they traded a 2019 first-round selection.
Fitzpatrick never settled into Miami, a team that began a total teardown and wanted Fitzpatrick to play all over the defense. Then, in 2019, Pittsburgh gave up a first, played him almost exclusively at free safety and Minkah was dominant.
Over his career, Fitzpatrick has racked up 19 interceptions, with a career-high six in 2022, 512 career tackles, and has been named first-team All-Pro three times. 2024 will be his age-28 season, so Fitzpatrick still has multiple seasons of excellent football ahead of him. He could ultimately put together a Hall of Fame career.