Kyle Dugger | S | Lenoir-Rhyne
Elevator Pitch
The Cliff Harris Award winner, which is given to the best defensive player in Division II. Dugger has size, athleticism and length to be an impactful. defender at the next level. The small school safety has been a riser since the Senior Bowl. He could find his way into the conversation for day two.
Vitals
Height | 6-1
Weight | 217
Class | Senior
Strengths
With Dugger, there is some position flexibility. While he projects best as a strong safety, there could be opportunity to play nickel corner in sub packages. Has the physical profile to cover tight ends at the NFL level. Teams could move him around to maximize his potential.
The small school prospect can win with speed and athletic ability. Dugger can play from a single high position and he gets downhill fast in order to help in run support. He understands angles and uses his speed to get there, and he will explode through his tackles. Can be disruptive at the catch point.
One underrated aspect of his game is return ability. At Lenoir-Rhyne, Dugger was used on punt returns which makes him even more attractive at the next level. He averaged a touchdown return for every 10 attempts. Six total scores in four seasons as a return man on punt coverage. Only returned a handful of kickoffs but could be a way to get on the field early in his career.
Weaknesses
See the ball, chase the ball. It isn’t necessarily bad when you find a guy who can play with reactions. However, his instincts are not up to par with where you would expect a top tier safety to be. Dugger needs to get up to speed with the uptick in competition. Gets away with his mental processing due to the speed at which he plays.
Dugger will need to be coached up quite a bit with coverage. Since his instincts aren’t quite there, he will need some work when asked to drop into coverage, instead of playing for the run. He definitely has the traits that a good defensive coach can mold into a more well-rounded safety.
Projection: 3rd-4th Round
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