A former college baseball player who bounced through three schools before finding football at NAIA Culver-Stockton, Kyle Dixon parlayed a monster senior season into one of the largest UDFA contracts in Patriots history.
Kyle Dixon's path to the NFL is about as unconventional as they come: three college baseball stops before he ever caught a football pass in college. He rewrote Culver-Stockton's receiving record book over two seasons at the NAIA level, and the New England Patriots rewarded that production with a contract that ranked among the richest UDFA deals in franchise history.
Path to the league
Dixon grew up in Carlinville, Illinois, and started his college athletic career as a baseball player, spending two years at Southern Illinois, then transferring to SIU Edwardsville and Georgia Gwinnett College before giving up baseball to pursue football at Culver-Stockton College, an NAIA program.
Career highlights
Dixon exploded onto the NAIA scene once he committed to football, earning first-team All-Heart of America Athletic Conference honors as a junior in 2024 with 60 catches for 1,112 yards and 12 touchdowns. His 143 career receptions rank sixth in Culver-Stockton history, his 2,394 receiving yards rank second, and his 24 touchdown catches rank third.
2025 season recap
As a senior in 2025, Dixon again earned All-HAAC honors, leading the conference with 83 receptions for 1,282 yards and 12 touchdowns. That production helped him sign with the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent for $252,500 in guarantees, the third-largest UDFA deal in franchise history at the time.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Kyle Dixon (American football)
- NESN: Patriots Shockingly Sign NAIA WR To Massive Guaranteed Deal
Player Profile
Background
- Position
- Wide Receiver
- Group
- offense
- College
- Culver Stockton
- Hometown
- Carlinville, IL, USA
- Age
- 25
- Status
- active
