Newly Acquired Safety Thriving in Pittsburgh
Under the New England Patriots’ new coaching staff, safety Kyle Dugger was switched from starter to backup. The Steelers acquired him in late October. Even though Dugger has only been with the Steelers for less than a month, he feels like he’s been with them for years. Adjusting to Pittsburgh’s system was easy for him. Dugger and Jalen Ramsey already work together very well. He’s been consistently contributing ever since he joined the team. Dugger made a 73-yard pick-six against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 11.
Dugger’s interview on KDKA aired Sunday morning. He explained, “I’ve never felt more comfortable in a system, and I’ve only been here, I just got here.” He added, “I love it, this system.” Dugger spoke about adjusting to a new team. He remarked, “You can’t really feel sorry for yourself thinking about, ‘Oh man, this is hard.’ I never really thought about the difficulty.” Dugger described Pittsburgh. He said, “It’s a slower-moving city. And I like that. It’s calm. It is not super busy, super crazy. I like that.”
Former Steelers offensive lineman Trai Essex took notice of how their defense has shown some improvement ever since Dugger joined the team. He shared his thoughts during a recent appearance on 93.7 The Fan. He said, “There’s no coincidence in this. It’s directly attributed to the fact that Jalen is playing free safety and we traded for Kyle Dugger.” He continued, “That stability back there in the back end has solidified everything for us. That’s what we’ve been trying to find. Something that we thought we had with Juan Thornhill didn’t work. Obviously, DeShon [Elliott] being hurt, in and out of the lineup for the first part of this year, didn’t help the stability.” Essex added, “I think Kyle Dugger is perfect for this defense, and he’s already paid dividends. He’s already got on the board.”
On his Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger podcast, former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger made it clear that he believes Dugger could become an All-Pro. He explained, “Kyle Dugger’s got a nose for the end zone, a nose for the ball. You know what Ramsey’s going to give you back there: he’s a fast, instinct guy, been in the league, All-Pro. I think there’s a chance that [Dugger] is going to develop into an All-Pro safety. I think that’s how good he is, and the potential he has.”
