Kyle Dugger

6 seasons, 286 solo tackles — and a 2025 trade out of New England to Pittsburgh.

Dugger was a 2nd-round Division II project out of Lenoir-Rhyne in 2020 — and from year 2 onward he was a 50+ solo-tackle every season in New England. The 2023 peak (99 combined tackles, 7 PDs) sat right in the middle of his $58M extension. Then the post-Belichick Patriots traded him to Pittsburgh mid-2025, where he's slotted in as the starting strong safety.

2025 split — 7 solo TK in 4 NE games, 25 in his first Pittsburgh stretch.

The 2025 line is a tale of two teams. In a limited New England run, Dugger had just 7 solo tackles and zero PDs. Since the trade to Pittsburgh he's gone for 25 solo tackles, 5 PDs, 2 TFLs, and a sack — basically the volume of a full Patriots season compressed into a partial Steelers stretch.

The role under Pittsburgh's defensive scheme has unlocked the disruption profile that quietly faded in 2024.

30 career pass defenses + 4 forced fumbles + 4 fumble recoveries — a full takeaway resume.

Dugger's signature trait is takeaways: across 6 seasons he's racked up 29 PDs, 3 FFs, 2 FRs. Five of the 8 PD season in 2022 came in coverage on tight ends — the matchup the Patriots designed his role around.

Notably absent: 0 career INTs in the box-safety usage. The ball gets out, but rarely into his hands. The deflections do the work.

He has never finished a full season under 50 combined tackles — 6-for-6 as a starter.

From 2020 (61 combined) through 2024 (76 combined), Dugger has hit 50+ combined tackles every full season of his career. The 2023 peak — 99 combined, 6 TFLs, 7 PDs, 1 INT — was the line that earned him a 4yr/$58M extension before the regime change in Foxborough.

The 2025 mid-season trade probably knocks his combined total down for the year, but his Pittsburgh trajectory (25 solo since the move) projects to roughly that same 50+ pace once the full schedule plays out.

His best TFL season (8 in 2024) came on his lowest PD year (4) — a coverage/run-fit trade.

2024 was Dugger's most aggressive run-fit year — 8 TFLs, a career high — but the coverage production dipped to 4 PDs, his lowest in 4 years. That's the classic strong-safety trade: a heavier box role means more stops behind the line but fewer pass-defense reps.

2025 has flipped the curve back the other way under Pittsburgh's deeper safety rotation: 5 PDs, just 2 TFLs.

Same defensive scheme family — Belichick's NE → T.J. Watt's PIT — without missing a beat in October 2025.

The fit in Pittsburgh works because Dugger has spent his entire career in physical, zone-leaning, box-safety schemes. Mike Tomlin's defense slotted him into the strong-safety role directly. The first stretch in Pittsburgh: 25 solo tackles, 1 sack, 2 TFLs, 5 PDs — all in a partial season, and all higher per-game rates than his New England line in the same year.

The kick-return reps from his early career (4 career kickoff returns) are a reminder that he's one of the most athletic box safeties of his draft class — a Division II prospect who became a starter for 6 straight seasons.