NFL’s Love Affair For Patriots Defender Continues In Position Ranking

If you ask anyone in NFL circles about Kyle Dugger, they will tell you that the New England Patriots have a future superstar on their hands.

In fact, it could be argued that the fourth-year safety is already one of the best in the NFL at his position, he just doesn't get the recognition that he deserves. That is until now, as one league writer tabbed him as one of the best slot defenders in the league.

Doug Farrar of The Touchdown Wire ranked Dugger among the 11 best slot defenders in the entire NFL, placing the fourth-year safety at No. 9 on his list.

You can read some of Farrar's praise of Dugger below:

If you're going to play for Bill Belichick, especially on defense, you'd best be versatile -- both positionally overall, and to adapt to Belichick's ever-changing concepts. Belichick has been an advocate of the big nickel thing for a long time now, and he had quite the group in 2022 with Devin McCourty, Adrian Phillips, Jabrill Peppers, and Dugger as his primary safeties in name.

Dugger, the 2020 second-round pick out of Lenoir-Rhyne, has been mostly a box/slot player through his NFL career, with some flexibility to move to free safety and outside cornerback. From the slot last season, he allowed 11 catches on 17 targets for 91 yards, 35 yards after the catch, two touchdowns, one interception, three pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 93.0.

Dugger isn't just a great slot defender, however. That's what makes him so special in the eyes of the football community. The 27-year-old was immediately one of the Patriots' best box defenders when he arrived in 2020 and has developed into a quality coverage safety.

In the absence of Devin McCourty, it is expected that New England will rely more heavily on Dugger in the deep third of the field. If he can continue to show improvement and hold down that ever-important communication role in the Patriots secondary, we could be soon talking about Dugger as one of the best defenders in the NFL -- which would be a pricey reality for the Patriots.