FOXBORO -- The Patriots have made a post-trade deadline addition that could pay dividends for their roster down the stretch.
The Patriots announced on Tuesday that they'd activated Duke Dawson to the active roster off of injured reserve. They released two players -- linebacker Nicholas Grigsby and running back Kenjon Barner -- in the process of clearing a spot for the rookie corner.
Why does Dawson's addition matter?
It's impossible to predict any sort of playing-time figures or week-to-week assignments for the second-round pick out of Florida, but there are a few reasons to believe he could make an impact for Bill Belichick's defense.
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NOT A COURTESY ACTIVATION
Stop me if you've heard this before: Roster spots are precious. It's a cliche, but it's true.
Dawson's spot on the 53-man roster could've gone to a tight end; the Patriots could be without Dwayne Allen (knee) for a few weeks and all three tight ends on the roster have dealt with injury this year. It could've gone to a running back; after Barner's release, the Patriots have just Sony Michel and James White at that position on the roster.
But it didn't. It went to Dawson, who is one of two players the Patriots can activate off of injured reserve. The other is running back Rex Burkhead, who has returned to practice but can't play until Week 13 against the Vikings. The Patriots had to make a decision on whether or not to activate Dawson this week.
The Patriots have others who've hit IR -- like corner Eric Rowe, linebacker Ja'Whaun Bentley and lineman Brian Schwenke -- who could have been eligible to return later in the year if healthy, but Dawson was designated as one of the two options to come back . . . and it was for a reason.
Does that mean Dawson will be active and have a role come Week 12 against the Jets? Not necessarily. But it does mean the Patriots want to have the option of putting him on the field for the stretch run of the season.
Dawson was hurt in training camp following the team's preseason opener during a special teams drill in practice. He came out of the session immediately with a hamstring injury, and was not seen again until he returned to practice after missing six games on IR.
Though Dawson had a setback as he was rehabbing the injury initially, he is healthy and has been able to ramp up his workouts past the rehab stages for weeks.
VALUABLE DEPTH
New England Patriots
Stephon Gilmore and Jason McCourty have both been very good over the course of the season as Belichick's top two corners, but with Rowe out, the Patriots could use another as depth.
With Dawson's experience in the slot, he likely wouldn't be impacting Gilmore or McCourty's workload if and when he does get on the field. Instead, he could help spell Jonathan Jones if the Patriots coaching staff wants to use Dawson inside.
Jones has played well at times going back to last season when he became a regular defensively. However, he has been targeted quite a bit in coverage by opposing quarterbacks this season -- and with some success.
According to Pro Football Focus, Jones is targeted once for every 5.3 snaps in coverage in the slot -- the third most frequently targeted player among corners with at least 170 snaps in coverage in the slot. Jones is also allowing 1.40 yards per coverage snap in the slot, which is fifth most among that group.
Dawson, who spent time with starters this summer while Jones was rehabbing an injury that robbed him of time during the 2017 postseason, could represent an upgrade at that spot if he's proven he deserves time.
There's a chance that Dawson's presence could also give Patrick Chung an occasional breather.
Chung is among the most versatile players on the Patriots roster, and Dawson has a long way to go before proving he can handle multiple roles, as Chung does. However, that's what Dawson did in college, and Belichick has often spoken about how there are similarities between the responsibilities shared by slot corners and safeties.
"He has experience essentially playing three positions," Nick Caserio said after drafting Dawson. "He’s played safety, he’s played corner, he’s played slot corner, so a pretty versatile player. He played in the kicking game a little bit, so he has a lot of experience doing multiple things. We’ll put him in the mix with everybody else in the secondary and see how it goes."
Like Jones, Chung has found himself targeted frequently in coverage. Among the 20 safeties who've played at least 75 percent of their team's snaps, no one is targeted more often than Chung, who sees a pass thrown his way once for every 7.9 snaps in coverage, according to PFF. His yards allowed per coverage snap (0.83) are third most among those 20 safeties.
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Only three players have played more defensive snaps for the Patriots this season than Chung (564). His work as a hybrid safety/corner/linebacker is critical to how the unit functions as a group, but if Dawson can help the Patriots occasionally manage Chung -- who uncharacteristically missed two tackles Sunday -- then perhaps they'll give themselves a chance of having the best version of Chung during the season's stretch run.
WHAT'S ON THE SCHEDULE
The slot corner position -- the nickel back, the "star," whatever you want to call it -- is much more than just a team's third-best corner these days.
In the modern-day NFL, where sub packages are now base packages, being able to defend the slot is a critical element to any successful defense. Some third corners play starter-level snaps, and it's critical to have a defender on the inside to help takeaway those pass-catchers in the middle of the field who help their offenses move the chains with short-to-intermediate gains.
How critical? Pro Football Focus put together an interesting piece earlier this offseason on the value of the slot defender, which is as important as ever because pass-catchers who work the middle of the field (slots and/or tight ends) are among the most efficient offensive weapons in football.
If teams can defend those options, they give themselves a better chance winning. Simple as that.
Dawson's ability on the inside helped him get taken in the second round, despite not jumping off the page in terms of his physical measurements (5-foot-11, 197 pounds) and testing numbers. Minkah Fitzpatrick was a first-round corner for the Dolphins, and if he can be a shut-down slot defender, he'd be worth it. In the slot, he's allowed a 46.2 quarterback rating, the best mark among all slot corners with at least 170 snaps in coverage this year.
If Dawson does see time in the slot for the Patriots during the final third of the season, he could find himself on some of the best receivers in the game. The Patriots will take on Minnesota's Adam Thielen in Week 13. They'll see Pittsburgh's JuJu Smith-Schuster in Week 15. All three division opponents have top-25 slot receivers, according to PFF: Miami's Danny Amendola, New York's Jermaine Kearse and Buffalo's Zay Jones. Potential playoff opponents in Cincinnati and Baltimore have more than capable slot options as well in Tyler Boyd and Willie Snead.
It's hard to predict exactly where or how often Dawson will be use now that he's activated. But the Patriots selected him where they did for a reason. And they moved him to the active roster for a reason.
There's a chance he could make a real impact on the Patriots defense before his rookie season is through.
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