Duke

Dawson Jr.

Dawson, a former Patriots second-rounder, has not had an official NFL appearance since 2020. Almost all of these players finished the 2022 season on Pittsburgh’s practice squad.

Dawson was the No. 56 overall pick in last year’s draft after New England traded up for him. He opened his rookie season on injured reserve because of a hamstring injury before being activated in November only to not play a single defensive snap for the champs. Dawson was a superb man-coverage slot corner at Florida. It’s a good flier for the Broncos to take.

Dawson’s activation comes two weeks after the Pats placed Eric Rowe on injured reserve. The No. 56 overall pick of the draft, Dawson could see immediate snaps in the slot, where Jonathan Jones has been a bit of a liability.

Patriots gave up the No. 63 and No. 117 picks. Dawson (5’11/197) was a two-year starter in the Gators’ secondary, seeing early action at safety before developing into a dominant man-coverage slot corner. He logged six career INTs and three pick sixes. When targeted in the slot last season, PFF College charted Dawson with a 41.0 passer rating allowed, third-lowest among draft-eligible corners. His completion rate allowed was 43.8%. Dawson showed plus long speed in Indy (4.46) and is skilled enough to compete for sub-package playing time early on.

The No. 56 overall pick of April’s draft will be a candidate to return, and NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports that is the initial plan. Once healthy, Dawson should begin his NFL career in the slot.

The No. 56 overall pick, Dawson has the inside track for the New England’s slot corner role. He’ll compete with Eric Rowe and Cyrus Jones in training camp.