Did Bill Belichick’s dog help select Lenoir-Rhyne safety Kyle Dugger?

Bill Belichick is one of the most astute personnel men in NFL history. We may have seen his primary assistant — his dog, Nike.

We all know that Bill Belichick is one of the better personnel men in NFL history, and it’d be hard to list too many coaches who understand the game at his level. Belichick has been wildly successful through multiple rosters, assistant coaches, scouts, and assistant general managers.

Belichick is now trying to be that great without Tom Brady, and it appears that he has a bit of help from home as he unleashes the Patriots’ picks. New England traded out of the first round on Thursday night, giving the 23rd overall pick to the Chargers so that they could select Oklahoma linebacker Kenneth Murray. With that pick gone, the Patriots’ first pick was the 37th overall.

And with that pick, Belichick took Lenoir-Rhyne safety Kyle Dugger, the Senior Bowl star who reminds some me of Kam Chancellor with his aggressive tackling and athleticism in short to intermediate areas. And it was revealed that Belichick may have had a little help with the pick.

The dog’s name is Nike, and Nike has an Instagram account you should definitely see. With all the jokes Belichick has made about “Snapface” and other social media technology, this looks like an excellent use of the application.

We’re impressed with Nike’s football acumen, and we’ll be very interested to see how Belichick’s top personnel assistant will guide the Patriots’ draft through the next two days.