Duke Dawson’s competitive fire sparks comparisons to an ex-Patriots' cornerback

FOXBOROUGH -- Duke Dawson was not drafted by New England on Friday night to replace Malcolm Butler as a starting boundary corner — come 2018, that job is sure to fall almost exclusively to Jason McCourty.

But after watching the third-round pick out of Florida play as a collegian and considering the state of the Patriots’ depth chart in the secondary, it’s not hard to see that the New England braintrust might have seen the same sort of possibilities in Dawson’s game that initially attracted them to Butler four years ago: namely, a highly competitive defensive back who has the capability to grow into an every-down corner in the NFL.

In an ideal world? In Dawson, the Patriots found another Butler, with all of the same intensity, attitude and hair-on-fire sort of playing style -- but without the soap-opera baggage that dominated much of his last year-plus in New England.



While Dawson was a third-round pick out of an SEC school and Butler was an undrafted free agent out of West Alabama, there are plenty of comparisons to be made from an on-field perspective. Both play fast, and both are intense defenders. They have roughly the same frame — Butler is 5-foot-11 and 190 pounds while Dawson is 5-foot-11 and 197 pounds. And both are known for their physicality and aggressive nature more than their straight-line speed.

Asked about Butler’s game on Friday, Dawson was effusive in his praise.

“Malcolm Butler was a great player,” Dawson said shortly after the Patriots made him the 56th overall pick in the draft Friday night. “He came in undrafted. He just came in and worked his butt off and got the respect. He’s one of the top corners in the league in my opinion.

“I’ve always been a competitor since day one. My uncle, he taught me the game of (football) since the age of 8. He's just always instilled that into me,” Dawson added. “It was just always built inside of me.”

While Butler’s remarkable ride with the Patriots came crashing to an end in a benching in Super Bowl LII — and his subsequent departure in free agency — his decision to leave, opened the door for the next generation of young corners on the New England roster. And while McCourty will get the bulk of the snaps at his old spot in 2018, the truth of the matter is Dawson is one of several younger corners who could ultimately be impacted, as everyone could take a step forward in terms of significant snaps because of Butler’s departure.

Jonathan Jones and Cyrus Jones are two others who are capable of joining that group, with the former also being the more likely candidate to follow in Butler’s footsteps for a few reasons, including the fact that Butler mentioned to me last year that if there was one young cornerback on the roster who reminded him of him as a rookie, it was Jonathan Jones.

But based on his pedigree and versatility, don’t discount the idea of Dawson stepping in sooner rather than later. In college, the ex-Gator carved out a niche as a defensive back with excellent ball skills. He intercepted four passes last year in his senior season while making 34 total tackles. In his four-year college career, he recorded six interceptions, 81 total tackles (6.5 for a loss) and had 17 passes defensed in 32 career games, excellent numbers as part of a secondary that included several other future NFL defensive backs.

But it’s his versatility that could ultimately become his calling card. He played inside and outside in college, working in both zone and man coverage. He even spent some time at safety. But as a youngster in the NFL, he could see the bulk of his time as a slot corner. According to Pro Football Focus, he allowed an impressive 41.0 passer rating when lined up in the slot, the third-lowest total among 2018 NFL draft defensive backs.

“Whatever position they want to put me in, I'll just go out there,” he said when asked about the comfort level on the inside as opposed to the outside.

After the pick was made Friday, Nick Caserio used a lot of the same words when describing Dawson that could be used when talking about Butler the last four years, including competitive and toughness.

“I’d say his competitiveness, his tackling, his versatility — the fact he played so many spots,” Caserio said when he was asked what stood out about Dawson during the pre-draft evaluation process. “How that translates into our system? Obviously, (he’s) starting from scratch, so we’re going to take inventory on where he is. But he’s an impressive kid.

“He’s a really tough kid, and he’s a really competitive kid. And I’d say that shows up in his play, and also when you have an interaction with him one-on-one.”

In the end, Butler’s toughness helped take him on a roller coaster ride, as he went from unknown scrapper to NFL star. Dawson’s NFL journey didn’t have quite the same sort of humble beginnings — as a third-rounder, he’ll have more job security this summer than Butler did as a rookie. But if he can bring the same sort of spark to the New England secondary, the pick will represent a positive return on the investment for the Patriots.