Steelers Trade Away 2020 1st-Round Draft Pick For Defensive Help

PITTSBURGH, PA - With Ben Roethlisberger out for the year and the 0-2 Steelers' season already threatening to spiral out of control, the team late Monday traded away its 2020 first-round draft pick - but not for a quarterback. The team acquired defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick from the Miami Dolphins, according to multiple reports.

The Steelers and Dolphins also will swap late round picks in the deal, expected to be formally announced Tuesday.

Fitzpatrick was the 11th player taken in the 2018 draft, but was unhappy in Miami and had been given permission to seek a suitable trading partner for the Dolphins.

Football writers across the country offered mixed views on the trade.

"Cornerbacks don’t have a tremendous impact on wins and losses — not like a quarterback,"USA Today's Henry McKenna wrote. "And those wins and losses will determine where the Steelers’ pick lands in the 2020 NFL Draft, which will determine whether the Steelers were smart to make this trade."

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler called the move "bold, calculated and a bit desperate" on the Steelers' part.

"The stage was set for Pittsburgh to get a high pick in 2020. But the Steelers have never done business with draft positioning in mind. Win now is always the culture," he wrote. "The Steelers feel strongly enough about Fitzpatrick’s talent -- and affordable rookie contract -- to justify any
pick the team could muster in April’s draft."

Tyler Sullivan of CBS Sports gave the Steelers a B-minus grade on the trade.

The thing that doesn't get this trade up into the A-range is the injury to Ben Roethlisberger and the compensation it took to get Fitzpatrick. The fact that he's out for the year opens up the possibility for that 2020 first rounder to be pretty high, maybe in the range of some of the
elite quarterbacks that are going to be available this spring, " Sullivan wrote.

"If Mason Rudolph proves he doesn't have what it takes to make it in the NFL, the Steelers may wish they had the ability to at least think of bringing in one of those elite prospects."

Photo: In this Oct. 7, 2018, file photo, Miami Dolphins' Minkah Fitzpatrick (29) tackles Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tyler Boyd (83) after a catch during the first half of an NFL football game in Cincinnati. A person familiar with the negotiations says Fitzpatrick has been traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers for a first-round draft pick in 2020. The person confirmed the trade to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Monday, Sept. 16, 2019, night because the teams had not confirmed it.