Pats Pulpit
The New England Patriots acted quickly to fill one of the two roster spots created in the aftermath of trading Keion White and Kyle Dugger to San Francisco and Pittsburgh, respectively. Their plan is to bring rookie safety John Saunders Jr. aboard by poaching him from the Miami Dolphins practice squad.
Let’s assess what adding Saunders Jr. will mean for the team.
The Patriots trading Kyle Dugger and a seventh-round draft pick to the Steelers for a 2026 sixth-round selection did slightly increase the team’s draft portfolio, but it created some additional questions at the safety position. While he had lost his starting spot, Dugger was still the team’s No. 3 safety and played a combined 100% of snaps as an injury replacement for Jaylinn Hawkins in Weeks 6 and 7.
It would be a stretch to expect Saunders Jr. — an undrafted rookie just now entering the system — to replace the veteran and former team captain 1-for-1. However, his addition once made official will give New England some increased depth behind Hawkins and fellow starter Craig Woodson:
Active roster (5): Jaylinn Hawkins (21), Craig Woodson (31), Dell Pettus (24), Brenden Schooler (41), John Saunders Jr. (—)
Practice squad (1): Richie Grant (39)
At the moment, sophomore Dell Pettus projects to take over the third safety spot previously occupied by Dugger. Behind him, Brenden Schooler, Saunders Jr. and practice squad member Richie Grant provide extra bodies.
In addition to those six, New England could also opt to give third-year man Marte Mapu some increased box safety reps again. A hybrid, Mapu was officially moved to linebacker this season but has not yet carved out a consistent role at his new spot.
One of the reasons why Dugger was not considered a particular fit for the Patriots’ new defensive scheme under head coach Mike Vrabel and the defensive staff led by Terrell Williams and Zak Kuhr was his relative one-dimensionality. Even though he had been a multi-purpose safety earlier in his career, Dugger morphed into more of a box defender as time went along.
While not a perfect comparison, Saunders Jr. does bring a more optimistic outlook to the table as far as his positional flexibility is concerned. During his college career at Miami (OH) and especially Ole Miss, he showed that he can move between spots in the defensive backfield without much limitation — a level of versatility that likely was appealing to New England’s decision makers even before this week: the team had him in town for a pre-draft visit during the spring.
Saunders Jr’s ability to move between assignments is supported by his athletic makeup. Even though he does not offer high-end speed, the 6-foot-2, 210-pounder has a well-rounded skillset that should allow him to be employed in a variety of ways.
When asked about Kyle Dugger earlier this season, Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel expressed a desire for him...
