Everyone around the Pittsburgh Steelers is wondering why Minkah Fitzpatrick isn’t making Minkah Fitzpatrick plays this year. Meanwhile, Donte Jackson does. At least Jackson is accumulating the turnovers that Steelers fans have become accustomed to from Fitzpatrick. There’s a lot more to Minkah than what makes Minkah, and he’s still doing it.
But it also makes sense to take a moment to see what Donte Jackson is doing this year. Acquired in the Diontae Johnson trade, he has clearly emerged as a more valuable commodity. The Carolina Panthers have already moved on from Johnson, and Jackson is making a difference.
With four interceptions already, Jackson has made as many interceptions over the past 20 years as any Steelers player not named Minkah Fitzpatrick, Troy Polamalu or Joe Haden. CB Levi Wallace also had four in 2022. Otherwise, here’s the full list of names, data via Pro Football Reference’s Stathead tool.
In addition to four interceptions, Donte Jackson recovered a fumble for the Browns. It was his first poor recovery of the season and only the second of his career, but it gave him five takeaways on the year.
With the Steelers, there have only been 10 player seasons in the last 20 years where a player recorded five or more takeaways. Donte Jackson finished 10th, although he could get a teammate. DeShon Elliot has one interception this year but also has three fumble recoveries.
Troy Polamalu’s 2010 season was his best in the last 20 years, with seven interceptions and one poor recovery to eight takeaways. Minkah Fitzpatrick produced seven takeaways in 2019 and six in 2022. Joe Haden, Bryant McFadden, TJ Watt and Devin Bush also had six takeaway seasons. One more and Jackson could join that list.
And he has six more fights left, giving him more than a chance to fight. It would certainly be amazing to be in the company of names like Haden, Fitzpatrick, and Watt. Currently, Jackson is in a class that includes Mike Hilton, Mike Mitchell and LaMarr Woodley.
Donte Jackson is now He has 18 career interceptions in seven seasons. After tying his career high that he set as a rookie. After catching four passes in 2018, he caught three passes in each of the next two seasons. Since then, he has not been able to place in the top two. But if he produces another performance over the next six weeks, he could be on his way to a new career high.
Considering he hasn’t gone more than four games without an interception this season, it’s likely Jackson will have five hits. He left a little to be desired in other aspects of the game, but the Steelers got the splash play they were looking for. The fact that they didn’t get them from Minkah Fitzpatrick makes Jackson’s contribution even more important.
