In the same week that Patriots head coach Bill Belichick made headlines by defending his recent draft track record, four of New England’s 2020 picks played big roles in Sunday night’s 23-17 win over the Baltimore Ravens.
Safety Kyle Dugger, a 2020 second-round selection and the Patriots’ top pick, started for the first time in his NFL career and played 56 of 66 snaps. Dugger primarily played slot cornerback for the Patriots as they dropped into zone coverage — usually a Cover-3 in dime personnel — against Ravens QB Lamar Jackson. He also played some linebacker and safety.
Dugger exclusively shadowed Ravens tight end Mark Andrews when the Patriots were in man coverage. Andrews caught seven passes on nine targets for 61 yards overall, but the majority of those were against zone coverage. Dugger let up one catch on two targets for 8 yards against Andrews. The incompletion was thrown low by Jackson and otherwise could have been a catch, as Andrews had beaten Dugger. Dugger actually almost ripped the ball away from Andrews on the 8-yard snag. He let up another 18-yard catch to Andrews that was erased by a penalty.
Overall, Dugger covered Andrews well in a difficult assignment. Andrews came into the season as one of the NFL’s premier tight ends.
Dugger also let up three catches for 15 yards in zone coverage.
He made three impact plays Sunday night. He pressured Jackson into running for just a 1-yard gain on drop back. He popped running back Gus Edwards at the end of a 5-yard run. He also brought down rookie running back J.K. Dobbins with an open-field tackle on third-and-7 with 30 seconds left in the game in the open field.
Dugger shares a lot of similarities with opted-out Patriots safety Patrick Chung. They’re both stout for a defensive back and can play linebacker and cover tight ends. Chung also could track slot receivers in his prime. It remains to be seen if Dugger can be trusted to cover a slot receiver, but he might have the speed to play deep safety. He looked comfortable with the play in front of him in zone coverage Sunday night.
The Patriots were assisted by poor weather and mistakes by the Ravens. But they beat Baltimore by flooding the field with players like Dugger, Adrian Phillips, Jonathan Jones and Jason McCourty who can play multiple positions. The Patriots were seven-point underdogs coming into Week 10 and wound up beating the Ravens handily.
It’s unlikely that the Patriots take this exact approach against any other NFL teams. So, Dugger might not be a nearly every-down defender again next week. But he certainly played his role well Sunday night.
Linebackers Josh Uche (2020 second-round pick) and Anfernee Jennings (2020 third-round pick) also saw their snaps increase Sunday night.
Uche primarily played outside linebacker and registered a sack and another hurry on 21 snaps. He rushed the passer 16 times, played run defense twice and dropped into coverage three times. Uche looks most comfortable as a pass rusher. He looked a little bit out of control in coverage, but his athleticism stuck out.
Jennings played inside linebacker with seven snaps as a run defender and four in coverage. Jennings’ role this season is still a bit peculiar. He was a great edge defender, both as a pass rusher and run-stopper, at Alabama. He’s been moved off of the ball in the NFL and still doesn’t look totally steady. It appears he’s playing there on early downs out of necessity with little depth available on the roster at inside linebacker. Starter Ja’Whaun Bentley is out with a groin injury, and practice squad player Terez Hall is filling the void. Jennings has added some bulk on early downs in recent weeks.
Patriots sixth-round pick Mike Onwenu continued to start at right tackle despite the return of Week 1 starter Jermaine Eluemunor off of injured reserve. Onwenu gave up a sack but otherwise pass and run blocked well. He’s PFF’s third-ranked offensive tackle on the 2020 season.
