Buffalo Bills: Ranking the starting safeties of the AFC East
By Rob Spehar
1) New England Patriots
Projected Starters – Devin McCourty, Patrick Chung
By a very slim and narrow margin, the New England Patriots finish atop this ranking list ahead of the Buffalo Bills. The New England Patriots secondary is arguably the best positional group in the entire NFL. A big contributor to support that statement are the safeties. The core group begins with Devin McCourty and Patrick Chung who are both experienced veterans and have won three Super Bowl rings. Along with their veteran leadership, they are also coaches on the field for the younger guys.
It all starts with Devin McCourty who has been with the team for 10 seasons and had his best season last year since 2012. In 2019, he accounted for 53 tackles, seven passes defended, five interceptions, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. Although he is 33 years old, he still plays at a high level. He is a defender that is great in coverage, a great tackler and is at the right place at the right time.
Patrick Chung is the kind of safety that sneaks up on you and pounces when you least expect it. He had a solid season in 2018 but his production fell a little in 2019. Playing in only 13 games, he tallied up 41 tackles and three passes defended. Those numbers were good enough to earn a contract extension with the Patriots to the tune of two-years worth $12.8 million and a $3 million signing bonus. That will likely be the last contract of his career but it guarantees the Patriots will have their starting safeties when the 2020 season kicks off.
In preparation for the departure of their two starting veteran safeties, Bill Belichick decided to draft a young safety in the 2nd round (34th overall) named Kyle Dugger out of Lenoir-Rhyne. Not a school that most people know, but this guy can play. Along with ideal size and speed, he is very physical and aggressive in his style of play. He was a great special teamer for the Bears returning six punts for touchdowns. Belichick can have a little fun with Dugger during his first year while he gets acclimated to the Patriots defensive system due to how versatile he is.
3 questions at WR entering training camp for Bills. dark. Next
It was a very close race between the Bills, Jets, and Patriots for the top spot at safety in the division. But ultimately, New England ends up on top here because of the experience and championship pedigree.