The Patriots used their first draft pick of the 2020 NFL draft to select safety Kyle Dugger from Lenoir-Rhyne. No, Lenoir-Rhyne isn’t a school that has produced Hall of Famer after Hall of Famer, but don’t be fooled by his school of choice. Dugger is deserving of an early draft pick.
He played five years of college ball, however, his redshirt sophomore season ended after only one game due to injury. Dugger’s college career finished with 237 tackles, 36 passes defended, 10 interceptions, and six forced fumbles.
The knock against him will be the level of competition he played against in college. Making the jump from Division II to the NFL is a difficult transition, but the Patriots think Dugger has the ability to make the leap.
These three things can be taken away from the Patriots’ decision to draft Dugger.
1. The Patriots will continue to use a three-safety approach.
Since Patrick Chung returned to the Patriots in 2014, New England has used three safeties pretty frequently. With Devin McCourty and Chung and that the starting spots, Duron Harmon was left to play that third role. Now, that Harmon is in Detroit, Dugger can come in and play that position.
However, Dugger isn’t the same player that Harmon is. Dugger has the ability to play in coverage, deep safety, and in-the-box. With his athleticism, he should be able to make an impact in his rookie season.
2. McCourty and Chung may not be in the long-term plans.
It’s obvious that the two starting safeties aren’t spring chickens. When the season starts, both McCourty and Chung will be 33 years old. They are also both under contract for two more years. At that time it would be tough to see either of them returning for their age 35 seasons.
In two years’ time, Dugger should be able to learn the defense from the two veterans. At that point, he’ll likely be given a full-time spot, and the other job will go to either Adrian Phillips or another safety that’s not currently on the roster. With a lot of questions on the roster, the Patriots will likely continue to take shots at young players in the draft.
3. Patriots aren’t changing their philosophy.
When Tom Brady left New England this offseason, some were worried that the Patriots would change how they operated. The drafting of Dugger is just an example that it’s business as usual in Foxboro.
Other teams may be skeptical about drafting a safety from a Division II school with their first pick in the draft. Not the Patriots, and not Bill Belichick. He focused in on his target and went right for him, and he doesn’t care that he hasn’t found great success with safeties in the second round. After Tavon Wilson and Jordan Richards, another coach may have stayed away. Not this one, though. Nothing is changing in New England.
