Kyle Dugger has wasted no time creating buzz at Bengals OTAs

Kyle Dugger went from pick-sixing Joe Flacco last season as a member of the Steelers to signing with the Cincinnati Bengals this offseason. Dugger is typically a safety, but he has the versatility to play in the slot, which has all of a sudden become a crowded position.

While Jalen Davis played well as the starting nickel down the stretch of the 2025 campaign, Dugger has more size and physicality to him. Plus, Dugger can function as a "big nickel" or third safety in certain subpackages, which isn't a skill set Davis really has. Let's hope all that excludes Dax Hill from the running at nickel so he can stay on the boundary where he belongs!

Dugger is already asserting himself and his personality at Bengals OTAs. Whatever happens on the field in shorts matters less than the excitement Dugger has generated of late in speaking out.

Kyle Dugger is the ultimate X-factor for Bengals' new-look defense

Even though Jordan Battle was excellent as a deep safety this past year, and Cincinnati was intentional about upgrading the position with hometown hero Bryan Cook joining the fold, Dugger should still see significant action in 2026.

It seems like Dugger is taking his transition to his new team in stride. Despite being drafted by the New England Patriots just after the Tom Brady era, Dugger recently talked about how learning under Bill Belichick and Mike Vrabel was invaluable, via Bengals.com senior writer Geoff Hobson:

"It's a blessing to have carryover from every defense I've been in...It was a very different defense under Vrabel coming from Bill and (Jerod) Mayo. It's really helpful. Especially now. Because we do a lot of the same things. A lot of similar things that we did with Vrabel here and even some of the things that we did with Belichick."

Not the worst defensive minds to learn under during your formative years in the NFL, eh? Despite everything not working out in New England, culminating in an in-season trade to Pittsburgh, Dugger handled himself well and is on a one-year prove-it deal in Cincy to ideally solidify the next phase of his career.

Dugger's decision to suit up for the Bengals in the first place, despite the fact that they have two clear starters at safety in Cook and Battle, speaks to how the perception of the franchise has changed around the league. Joe Burrow obviously is the main catalyst for that, and his presence could very well make Cincinnati a hot free-agent destination, where high-quality vets sign short-term deals to chase a Super Bowl, and cash in on a bigger payday elsewhere.

Perhaps the unprecedented move to restructure Burrow's contract could mean the Bengals make some other moves before this offseason is over. In any event, they've already added so much on defense in particular between Cook, Dugger, Boye Mafe, Jonathan Allen, and the crown jewel, Dexter Lawrence.

That blockbuster Lawrence trade went down after Dugger had signed, yet he still felt like the woeful Cincinnati defense of yesteryear was headed in the right direction with all the new talent. Dugger spoke about that from the locker room at OTAs, as documented by CLNSCincy.com's Mike Petraglia:

"The first day I came up here, I knew when we had a meeting a couple months ago that it was a really good group...I knew that these guys were ready to win, they wanted to win, and they know what it takes to win. You can see the experience, what they're asking, how they're carrying themselves. Everybody was hungry. It was like a quiet hunger amongst the group when we were being introduced and things like that. So I was excited to be a part of it for sure."

So yeah...Kyle Dugger appears to be locked in, and appears to "understand the assignment" as the kids say these days.

While it's unclear precisely what Dugger's role will be on the defense, he should be a dependable player who's bound to make multiple splash plays this season. And with an offense like the one Burrow leads, that's really all the Bengals need.

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