Patriots' Kyle Dugger Pick Makes Much Less Sense After Patrick Chung Extension
By Michael Luciano
The football world has been bracing for the end of the Patrick Chung era in New England, but the Patriots decided to keep their chess piece of a safety around for the foreseeable future instead.
Chung agreed to a two-year contract that will keep him in a Patriot until the 2023 season. He is now owed almost $13 million over the next four years, and the contract gives the Patriots an extra $925,000 in cap space, likely allowing them to sign their top pick Kyle Dugger. But...to do what, though?
The Patriots and S Patrick Chung have agreed to a two-year extension through 2023, per sources. Chung gets $3M to sign and is now due up to $12.8M over the next four years. One of the most reliable players on their standout defense.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) May 20, 2020
Between the Chung signing and the extension of Pro Bowler Devin McCourty, you have to wonder why the Patriots used a high second-round draft pick on D-II star safety Kyle Dugger, who earned favorable comparisons to Chung based on his versatility and speed.
The Lenoir-Rhyne star dominated at the Senior Bowl and is a premium athlete for the position at 225 pounds, so maybe he was too good to pass up. Unfortunately, he might not see the field as much as we thought as a rookie, as Chung and McCourty still have a lot of gas left in the tank.
Had fun writing this one.
— Chris Mason (@ByChrisMason) May 14, 2020
How Patriots rookie Kyle Dugger became the ‘Barry Bonds’ of D-II punt returners:https://t.co/XMaQY2yuGY
We've learned not to doubt Bill Belichick when he's made his mind up, but it fair to at least wonder why they drafted essentially an exact clone of Chung in the second round, only to keep the aging veteran around for a few more years. Dugger's path to playing time, besides in the return game, just got even more difficult.