With their first pick of the 2020 NFL Draft — No. 37 in the second round — the New England Patriots selected Lenoir-Rhyne safety Kyle Dugger.
It was a bit of a surprising move. New England had been linked to Alabama’s Xavier McKinney, who went a couple picks earlier. Instead, Bill Belichick selected a player from a Division II college program many casual football fans have probably never heard of.
Granted, Dugger is a stud. He’s 6’1, 217 lbs, and he definitely fills an area of need for the Pats. Especially since New England traded Duron Harmon away to the Lions — and with Devin McCourty and Patrick Chung both on the wrong side of 30 — it makes sense that Belichick and the Patriots would want to get younger at safety.