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On the second day of the 2020 draft, the Patriots made it clear they wanted to address some of their biggest needs. With the long-term future of the safety position in question, Bill Belichick and co. knew that they needed to find someone in this draft.
So, the Patriots targeted their guy and went after him. New England selected safety Kyle Dugger out of Lenoir-Rhyne, a Division II school in North Carolina.
Dugger spent six years at Lenoir-Rhyne but only really played in four due to multiple injuries. In his four seasons, he recorded 237 tackles, 36 passes defended, 10 interceptions, and six forced fumbles.
With Devin McCourty and Patrick Chung still holding the starting safety spots, there is certainly a question about what Dugger’s role will be in New England.
At first, he’ll likely fill more of the Duron Harmon role to start. Harmon spent the last few years patrolling as the third safety. He played some deep safety and helped with double-teams. Dugger is more athletic than Harmon, so he may be able to take on more assignments in that third safety role, but that’s primarily where he’ll play to start.
His addition is also important to give time off to the starting safeties now. Dugger’s skill set allows him to perform at both safety positions. He can be more of a coverage guy at times or he can play down in the box. He’s a bit of a chameleon in that sense.
McCourty has played at least 94% of the snaps in every season over the last four years, and that kind of stress can take a toll. Chung, on the other hand, has missed some snaps over the last couple of years due to injury. As he gets older, he’ll need some more time off as well.
Dugger can also play on special teams. He took 67 punt returns in college, returning six of them for touchdowns. The Patriots have struggled to find a punt returner since Julian Edelman really came into his own on offense. They’ve thrown Chung and Danny Amendola back there at times, but they need a guy who can do it full time. In his first couple of years, Dugger can be that guy.
In the near future, McCourty and Chung will be gone. Both of them are entering their 33-year-old season and have two years remaining on their contract. So, as Dugger enters his third season in the league, he should be able to ascend to one of the starting safety spots. Thanks to his versatility, he can probably perform at either of those positions.
Dugger will be crucial to the future success of the Patriots. He needs to show up, learn from the veterans, and make the transition from the Division II level to the NFL.
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