Day-three NFL Draft picks almost always have a long way to go toward securing a significant role in year one, and that couldn't be truer for San Francisco 49ers rookie linebacker Jaden Dugger.
Selected by the Niners in Round 5 out of Louisiana, Dugger might have been something of a surprise pickup. After all, San Francisco reunited with one of its star backers, Dre Greenlaw, earlier in the offseason and felt comfortable enough trading away another starting linebacker, Dee Winters, in the middle of the draft, too.
With several other names behind Greenlaw and All-Pro Fred Warner, Dugger might've been viewed as something of an excess commodity.
Not according to 49ers linebackers coach K.J. Wright, though.
In fact, Wright's presense on the Niners coaching staff appears to be the prime reason the Niners targeted Dugger in the first place, now allowing the rookie to potentially thrive underneath a former player whose similarities can't be ignored.
K.J. Wright admits to wanting Jaden Dugger on 49ers roster in a bad way
Wright, who was part of those legendary Seattle Seahawks defenses that made life hell for San Francisco in the early and mid-2000s, took notice of the prospective linebacker in preparation for last April's draft.
Speaking via 49ers Webzone, the former player, turned coach had this to say:
I kid you not, when I watched Dugger and the first 15 plays, I was like, "I've got to have this dude. I've got to have him." I just looked at his frame, I looked at his speed, and he had this one play that not too many linebackers can make. It was a reverse. It started to his right, and it went to his left. Most guys are late on reverses, but I saw this guy move to his right, and he went to his left so quick.
Even if the Niners had a bit of a linebacker surplus, it certainly appears as if Wright didn't care.
And it certainly seems to help knowing there's a comparison going on between the two, and the coach didn't shy away from admitting such:
We're real similar. Both tall. He's faster than I am. He's longer. I know I'm a long guy, but he's got these long arms. But I really love smart linebackers, guys that can see the game good. Guys that can anticipate plays is something that I love.
Granted, Wright knows fully well Dugger has a long way to go toward not only securing a key role in San Francisco's defense but even just making the 53-man roster altogether.
That said, if Dugger needed an ally to vouch for his upside and potential, he could've done much worse than land one in an excellent former player who's now leaving a major impact on the 49ers linebacker corps.
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