2019 Personnel: Devin McCourty (UFA), Patrick Chung, Duron Harmon
Bill Belichick has valued his safeties highly throughout his tenure with the New England Patriots, including the likes of Lawyer Milloy, Rodney Harrison, and Brandon Meriweather. Current veteran safeties Patrick Chung and Devin McCourty are beginning to enter the final stages of their respective careers, with the latter of the two hitting the open market in search of his final major payday.
Belichick has made it his mission to keep Rutger’s product Harmon under contract for the inevitable departure of McCourty and/or Chung. Harmon fits better as a roaming free safety, filling in for McCourty’s role as a center-fielder in the deep third of the field. In Belichick’s defensive system, Chung has been used as a slot/mismatch corner in their man-to-man defense, sliding down into the box to handle whichever player needs to be covered inside the numbers.
If Belichick is to acquire a safety this offseason, he should be looking for someone who can eventually fill in for Chung as a box-safety with coverage ability and physicality. Combine standout Kyle Dugger fits that role well with his quickness and size, weighing in at 217 pounds and running a 4.49 forty.
The safety position has become one of the best value investments on the defensive side of the football. With their cap-efficiency compared to their corner counterparts, the safety position has become a great place to find value-talent working against the cap.