The second round of the NFL Draft continued with pick Nos. 37 through 40.
The New England Patriots used the 37th pick, which they acquired on Thursday from the Chargers, to select Kyle Dugger, a safety from Division II Lenoir-Rhyne. As a redshirt senior in 2019, Dugger played in just seven games due to injury but had 15 solo and 16 assisted tackles plus two pass breakups. He added just two tackles, both of which came in the team’s opening game vs. St. Augustine.
Devin McCourty and Patrick Chung are the Patriots’ two starting safeties, so Dugger will need to impress during training camp if he wants to secure a starting job in 2020.
At No. 38, the Panthers selected Yetur Gross-Matos, a powerful pass-rusher from Penn State. A true junior, Gross-Matos appeared in 11 games in 2019, recording 40 total tackles and nine sacks.
Carolina used their first pick yesterday on defensive lineman Derrick Brown, foregoing their chance to select an elite pass-rusher. However, they make up for that in Round 2 by selecting Gross-Matos.
With the 39th pick, Miami landed Robert Hunt. A redshirt senior, he will fight for the chance to protect Tua Tagovailoa in the starting lineup. Miami’s starting guards as of now are Ereck Flowers and Shaq Calhoun.
Seconds later, at No. 40 overall, the Houston Texans landed Ross Blacklock, a defensive tackle from Texas Christian University. In 12 games last year, Blacklock made a total of 40 tackles, including 3.5 sacks.
Blacklock will likely land a starting job out of the gate with Houston, who currently employs Brandon Dunn atop their depth chart. This was Houston’s first selection of the entire draft and they used it to bolster their defensive line in a wise fashion.
