Bill Belichick praises Patriots rookies for developing into key players after slow start

The New England Patriots defense looked like it was in need of speed in the early weeks of the season, and yet their rookies sat on the sideline or on injured reserve. Safety Kyle Dugger and linebackers Josh Uche and Anfernee Jennings were nowhere to be found despite the Patriots picking them in the top three rounds of the 2020 draft.

Dugger, a second round pick, has made major inroads as a safety and outside linebacker to the point where he took 73% of defensive snaps in Week 12. Uche, who spent more time on IR, got 22% against the Cardinals.

“They’ve both made a lot of progress,” Belichick told reporters on Thursday. “Again, they’re getting better each week – Jennings, too. Those guys are, depending on the game plan and the role, but they’ve adapted to different responsibilities and different roles from week to week. They both have versatility. All three of them really have good versatility and hopefully they’ll continue to improve and develop in our system.”

It’s not the highest of praise. But the fact that Belichick’s comments weren’t some variation of, “long way to go,” is telling. It’s a good sign that the rookies are growing more dependable for the Patriots, which is important, because New England has needed help at linebacker. And with Dugger spending most of his time in the box, that’s basically the position that all three of the team’s top draft picks play.

“They also have been fortunate to work with some other good players like Devin [McCourty] and Jason [McCourty] back there with Kyle,” Belichick said. “The linebackers have John [Simon] and Ja’Whaun Bentley and those guys have really helped out as well giving some leadership to the younger linebackers. But, they work hard, they’re improving and we just kind of take it week to week with those guys.”