Looking for an athletic whiz with impressive production while playing both safety and linebacker, a guy who lit up his 2020 NFL Scouting Combine workout? The Cleveland Browns figure to be interested in such a player, particularly with a gaping hole in the middle-of-field defense thanks to free agency.
There’s a prominent player who fits that bill, but that’s not the athletic freak that the Browns will have a viable shot at drafting. Safety Kyle Dugger from D-II Lenoir Rhyne in North Carolina could be just what the Browns want in a physical, speedy strong safety/outside LB with playmaking flair.
In short, if you love Isaiah Simmons and what he did at Clemson as a hybrid defender, you’ll probably really like Dugger, too. And if the Browns don’t land Simmons in the first round — and that seems like a safe presumption after his glorious combine workout — selecting Dugger in Day 2 might be the best course of action.
D-II DB Kyle Dugger is jumping OUT OF THE COMBINE! @KingDugg_3
😳 Vertical jump: 42”
😳 Broad jump: 11’2”#NFLCombine pic.twitter.com/YET1Odn63r— NFL (@NFL) March 1, 2020
Dugger also had the longest arms (32 7/8″), biggest hands (10 3/8″) and largest wingspan (78 1/2″) of any defensive back in Indianapolis.
None of that means much if he can’t play football. But Dugger is no Taylor Mays or Obi Melifonwu, two physically prodigious NFL flops. I saw all three compete in their respective years at the Senior Bowl practices, including Dugger this year. Dugger’s ability in coverage and athletic awareness in team drills surpassed both Melifonwu but especially Mays.
He’s not without warts. Dugger hasn’t competed on the field against a single NFL player, save his impressive Senior Bowl week. He needs to improve his field awareness in coverage and his man coverage skills are not sharp. Like Simmons, his outstanding speed can cause him to take riskier, suboptimal angles, angles that won’t work against bigger/faster/stronger ball handlers in the NFL. There is some Jabrill Peppers to his game (and Simmons’ for that matter), to relate it to a recent Browns first-rounder.
Most projections show Dugger going in the middle of the second to the middle of the third round. After his stellar combine, the Browns will almost certainly need to use their second-round pick at No. 41 overall. After watching his workout and reviewing two game films from Lenoir Rhyne, it wouldn’t be a bad choice at all.