The only two safeties in the country with a higher PFF grade than Bishop Fitzgerald last season went in the first two rounds of the NFL Draft: Oregon's Dillon Thieneman (No. 25 overall to Chicago) and Toledo's Emmanuel McNeil-Warren (No. 58 to Cleveland).
Fitzgerald, who went undrafted before signing with the Steelers, is now with the Lions.
The Lions on Tuesday signed Fitzgerald to their active roster, poaching him from the Steelers' practice squad. The move comes amid several injuries to Detroit's safety corps and a day after Dan Campbell said Brad Holmes was scouring the league "for some of these safeties that are on other teams right now that are promising young players that we could potentially poach and bring in and let them compete."
Brian Branch (Achilles) and Kerby Joseph (knee) are still on the PUP list and not yet ready to return to practice -- Joseph's future with the Lions is now entirely in question -- while Avonte Maddox just underwent season-ending foot surgery. The Lions' top two safeties, at this point, are Chuck Clark and Thomas Harper. Their defense has allowed the second most points and second most passing yards in the NFL through two games.
We'll see if Fitzgerald can help. He can't hurt. He was a first-team All-American at USC last season after notching five picks in 10 games. He had 10 interceptions over his three-year college career, the first two of his seasons coming at NC State. He was projected as an early Day 3 pick in the draft, but concerns over his size and speed as well as a knee injury that cost him the end of last season might have all played a part in his slide.
Fitzgerald ran the slowest 40-yard dash (4.55) at the combine among 18 safeties and had the second lowest vertical (33") among 15 safeties.
Fitzgerald's NFL.com draft profile describes him as a "compact, ballhawking safety with alignment versatility," but notes he's much more consistent in coverage than run support. He doesn't have the ideal length for a free safety at 5'11, 200 pounds, but that's where he played most of his snaps in college. He also lined up in the box and in the slot.
"In coverage, he is assignment-oriented, displaying an adequate mix of route balance and response quickness. He’s clear-eyed to recognize takeaway opportunities and has the ball skills to flip the field ... As a run defender, Fitzgerald plays with urgency but issues diagnosing the play and suspect pursuit angles have led to chunk runs, creating an imbalance that affects his draft grade," per analyst Lance Zierlein.
If the Lions truly loved Fitzgerald, they would have taken him over, say, seventh-round pick Tyre West, the defensive lineman who's no longer on their roster. But they liked him enough to circle back now, in hopes of giving a compromised secondary a spark.
