Patriots Draft Profile: Kyle Dugger

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ESPN's live feed into Patriots' HC Bill Belichick's Nantucket Dining Room during Round 2 Friday Night.

Written by Johnny Maffei
The New England Patriots traded away the 23rd pick of the draft Thursday night and got themselves the 37th and 71st picks from the LA Chargers.

It felt like forever before Belichick & Caserio finally made their first selection.  There were some 1st round "snubs" still on the board, but as usual, BB went the unpredictable route and chose DII Safety Kyle Dugger from Lenoir-Rhyne University in North Carolina.

Dugger was a 2nd team DII All-American and 1st team All-South Atlantic Conference in 2019.

A few things caught my mind when reading one of his draft reports:

  • "Has range in deep coverage with a good feel for pattern pressure"
    • Obviously something any team wants in a Safety. If the Pats want to keep competing at the highest level, keeping up with Patrick Mahomes and DeShaun Watson is absolutely necessary, and that's just the AFC.
  • "Outstanding ball skills"
    • Dugger didn't have a ton of INT's at Lenoir-Rhyne with just 10 in his 6 years there, but he has a good amount of pass deflections and could keep up with any receiver.
  • "Shows matchup skill on inside receivers"
    • Versatility is huge for Belichick.  Hopefully Dugger isn't a "Jack of all trades, master of none" (Jake Hatch phrase), and after some development, can have multiple assignments against a team like the Cowboys or Chiefs with a vast amount of weapons.
  • "Outstanding kick and punt return skill... can make first guy miss and has a burst in the open"
    • There has been a lot of inconsistency at this position for the Pats.  They don't want Edelman to get hurt, Sanu took some reps back there and he was also hurt part of last year. If Dugger can be a consistent Punt Returner throughout his rookie deal, that would be huge.
    • You'll hear how great an athlete he is with his 4.49sec 40 yard dash and 42" vertical jump.  This is the position he is probably the most "NFL-ready" for.
  • "Occasional false step reacting. Gets away with it at a lower level"
    • This is what happens when you pick a DII athlete.  The biggest question for him will be will his DII dominance translate to the NFL.  It was great for Dugger to get called up to the Senior Bowl.
    • “That means everything. It’s something I didn’t expect to happen. To be here, to be able to compete with these guys, it’s huge for me,” Dugger said on the Senior Bowl. “It’s all I could really ask for, as a D-II athlete, trying to play at the next level.” 
    • To be able to show he could compete with this draft class is an ELEPHANTINE reason Belichick took a chance on the Georgia native.
Getting to be able to learn from Devin McCourty and Stephon Gilmore whenever camp starts will be huge for Dugger's development, that is, if being a defensive back is what Belichick has in store for him.  Steve Belichick, Bill's son, has worked with New England safeties a lot during his tenure with the Pats and, again, if Dugger's future with the Pats is at the DB position, is probably salivating over the tremendous athlete the Pats selected.

Belichick always preaches playing well in all three phases of the game: Offense, Defense, and Special teams.  Dugger can give Stidham some great field position with his punt returning ability, as well as be on the kickoff squad, if he can handle it.  

Dugger was certainly a surprise to Pats fans.  They waited almost 3 hours (trade happened around 10:50 p.m. ET) to give the pick away. Dugger's versatility and athletic ability is certainly something to be look forward to this fall. The Senior Bowl is a great example of proof that he has the promise to compete with the league's best.

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Emerson College '22 | Co-host/Producer of Ridin' Pine | Fmr #1 Show on WSFR | Fmr Full Press Coverage Patriots Writer | Socials: @johnnymaffei45