Pats ink top pick Dugger
First team with rookie class signed
Class is finally in session for the Patriots.
On Wednesday afternoon, the Pats signed rookie safety Kyle Dugger, their top pick in the 2020 draft, to become the first team in the NFL with its entire rookie class under contract. Drafted 37th overall, Dugger has received the richest contract of any first-year Patriot. Before Wednesday, the team had an insufficient amount of cap space to sign the secondround pick, so it agreed to restructure Patrick Chung’s deal earlier in the day to create enough room.
The Pats freed up nearly $1 million by redoing Chung’s contract. Dugger’s pen hit paper hours later.
Projections based on the NFL’s rookie wage scale have Dugger’s deal carrying a total value of $8.33 million with a signing bonus around $3.6 million. He is expected to count roughly $1.5 million against the cap this season.
At 6-foot-1 and 217 pounds, Dugger projects as an allround safety in the NFL who should take snaps after Chung, Devin McCourty and perhaps veteran freeagent addition Adrian Phillips
as a rookie. He possesses enough speed and size to cover the deep middle and play closer to the line of scrimmage, though he figures to face a steep uphill climb learning the playbook during a virtual offseason.
The Pats currently have a void at their No. 3 safety, having traded Duron Harmon to the Lions in March. Harmon took more than 60 percent of the team’s defensive snaps last season. He primarily played deep zones for the Patriots in packages with McCourty and Chung.
Dugger did a little bit of everything in college, including score on special teams. He is one of several candidates to return punts for the Pats, who were without a serious return threat once Gunner Olszewski was placed on injured reserve midseason. Dugger took six punts back for touchdowns at Lenoir-Rhyne, a Division II school where he received the 2019 Cliff Harris Award given to the best defensive player in collegiate competition levels below the FCS.
Like all other Patriots, Dugger is currently participating in video conference meetings during the team’s ongoing OTAs.