NFL Rumors: Patriots outmaneuvered these teams to draft Kyle Dugger

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The New England Patriots seemingly came out of nowhere to take Division II safety Kyle Dugger in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft.

But as you'd expect, drafting Dugger was all part of their calculated plan.

The Patriots snagged the Lenoir-Rhyne product at No. 37 overall on Friday. According to The Athletic's Jeff Howe, three other teams also had interest in Dugger -- and had picks soon after New England.

The Bills (picking at No. 54 overall), Steelers (No. 49) and Panthers (No. 38) all showed the most interest, and every member of the Panthers front office visited Hickory (Lenoir-Rhyne's campus) last season, according to the Lenoir-Rhyne coaches.

The Patriots also visited Dugger at his North Carolina school but "never tipped their hand," per Howe, as Lenoir-Rhyne staffers "couldn’t recall a single conversation" with New England during its visit.

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The Patriots traded their No. 23 overall pick to the Los Angeles Chargers for Nos. 37 and 71, and it's probably no coincidence they moved right ahead of Carolina at 38 to take Dugger at 37.

Lenoir-Rhyne head coach David Cole also told Howe he spoke to someone with the Bills who said they would "definitely" draft Dugger at No. 54 if he was available.

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Patriots director of player personnel Nick Caserio admitted Dugger was one of three players New England hoped to land entering the second round.

So, either Caserio and Bill Belichick got very lucky by trading down to a pick just ahead of three teams who likely would have drafted Dugger -- or they did their homework.

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