Patriots legend helping mentor second-year star Kyle Dugger

The Patriot Way isn’t all talk, as any Patriots fan knows.

In this organization, a healthy number of legends from the past stick around in order to help upgrade the future — and it starts in the offseason.

After a solid Year 1, buoyed by Bill Belichick’s belief in him, small-school safety Kyle Dugger is ready for a sophomore season to remember.

In an effort to boost his ball-hawking and coverage skills — as well as his competitive fire — he’s gone to the source for punishing hits.

Legendary DB Rodney Harrison, who starred for the Patriots from 2003-2008, has reportedly been stepping up to help Dugger develop into the Swiss Army knife weapon we all know he can be.

Who’s willing to bet this partnership is going to pay off immediately?

Former Patriots DB Rodney Harrison is helping Kyle Dugger’s development.

Every Pats fan who connected the dots between the dangerous Harrison and Dugger on Draft Night 2020 was entirely correct, as the legendary DB revealed this week that Bill Belichick had the two swap phone numbers almost immediately after the Lenoir-Rhyne product joined the organization.

The conversation doesn’t appear to have been common courtesy, either, as both generations formed a lasting connection that’s extended into this offseason. Harrison’s words of wisdom appear to be both strategic and motivational in nature, considering the Patriots are trying to extend Dugger’s skill set a bit to fit their myriad needs:

"“I’ve been telling him ‘You can cover. You just have to believe in yourself a little bit more. Don’t give those tight ends free releases. Get up there and jam them — you’re a big kid, you’re strong, so get up there and challenge them and don’t make it easy for them,'” Harrison said. “In the pass game, I just want to see him play with more confidence. He just has to believe what he sees. I tell him, ‘Believe what you see and go get it! Don’t second-guess yourself! Be aggressive! You don’t need to play careful.’“In the run game, I think he’s tough and he’s starting to really see the line-block combinations; when the tight end blocks down and the tackle pulls, where he needs to go, where his proper fit is.”"

When Dugger caught up with the media a few weeks back, he made it clear that Harrison’s game is one he’s modeling his own after (and his other favorite DB isn’t half bad, either).

Oh, Harrison and Polamalu? Yeah, that’ll play. We can find a spot for that.

When Dugger takes the field in 2021, he’ll be joined by several defensive studs who opted out of competition in ’20, leaving the Patriots defense even better off than it was last year (when it was stout in chaotic times).

If he’s not dominant initially, though, don’t worry. That’ll just be more fuel for Harrison’s fire, who surely plans to keep doing pro bono work to make the next Patriots generation into champions.

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