New England Patriots: Kyle Dugger will be a Bill Belichick prize
With the No. 37 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, the New England Patriots selected safety Kyle Dugger out of Lenoir-Rhyne…who?
After trading out of the first round, the New England Patriots served their fans with a further head scratcher by selecting Lenoir-Rhyne safety Kyle Dugger with the No. 37 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.
If you didn’t know who Dugger was prior to the selection, you are not alone.
An athletic, physical defensive back with speed and versatility, the Division II star is exactly the kind of player Bill Belichick adores. In that respect, it isn’t much of a surprising pick, especially since he is a player who was ranked as a top safety prospect entering the drat.
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With Alabama’s Xaiver McKinney being selected a pick ahead by the New York Giants, Kyle Dugger may have been next on the Patriots’ draft board at safety. At least that is what can be assumed.
In all, this is a pick that can turn into gold for Bill Belichick, or a pick that will be looked back upon the same way fans look back at head-scratching second round selections like Jordan Richards and Tavon Wilson. In those cases, it wasn’t the player fans and NFL pundits scarfed at, it was where they were selected.
As far as Kyle Dugger goes, he could be a player the Patriots could’ve selected further down in the draft, but he is also a player who could very well be the steal of the draft.
Who is Kyle Dugger?
A 24-year-old Georgia native, Dugger was the Division II Defensive Player of the Year. He also has some skills as a punt returner, which makes him a very valuable asset. Humbled by way of his path to the NFL, Dugger will enter the NFL eager to prove his value and eager to learn behind veterans like Devin McCourty and Patrick Chung.
"“To be able to learn from guys like that…I do know about their intelligence, their football IQ, I watched them play for a long time and I know a lot about their versatility, how they can do anything you could ask of a DB on the football field,” Dugger said, as transcribed by WEEI. “So to be able to learn from guys that play at a level that high and have done it well for so long is a huge honor. I’m definitely going to be soaking up everything I can from them.”"
In what signifies a perfect situation for him, Kyle Dugger will have to prove himself to most New England Patriots fans who were clamoring for a more known prospect with the No. 37 selection.
With players like Yetur Goss-Matos, Jalen Hurts, Cole Kmet and Grant Delpit still on the board, the selection of Dugger wasn’t an immediate popular choice. That is mostly due to where he played and the fact that he is largely unknown. The perfect formula for a player to have a chip on his shoulder.
"“As far as a chip, there is a definitely a mountain on my shoulder,” Dugger explained. “It’s definitely something that’s going to be permanent that I’m going to carry throughout my career. Division II football was different in that the program wasn’t made to produce NFL players. So a lot of things, if I wanted to get better I would have to take them into my own hands as far as my worth ethic, the was I approached myself, how I critiqued myself.”"
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Sounds like the prototype New England Patriots player. Certainly, a player Bill Belichick is going to have a field day with as far as coaching and growth.