The New York Giants secondary, including the safety position, took a massive hit after Xavier McKinney signed a contract with the Green Bay Packers in free agency. The Giants drafted Tyler Nubin 47th overall in the 2nd round with the expectation of him taking over for McKinney. His chances of starting in 2024 have been put on hold due to injury.
The New York Giants rookie is dealing with a calf issue
Tyler Nubin injured his calf on their first day of camp. As a result, he missed a week of practice. Thankfully, his injury isn’t considered long-term, and he returned to the practice field on Thursday.
However, his injury caused him to fall out of the starting rotation (as of now). Their third-year player has taken the early lead.
The New York Giants’ former 4th-round pick has emerged as the front-runner
Dane Belton received first-team reps at safety and has emerged as the early front-runner to start. Belton, the 114th overall pick from 2022, enters his third year in the league. He has started seven out of 32 games.
Their defensive coordinator praised him for his efforts in their first two weeks of practice.
Shane Bowen gave Dane Belton an early endorsement
“One thing I’ll say for Dane is he’s taken ownership of it, and he’s fighting like hell to earn that job. Which he should. It’s his job to lose right now. It is his job to lose…” Shane Bowen said before practice.
“I think the instincts show up, the playmaking ability. I think he’s smart. He communicates. You can’t really tell a whole lot about the tackling and some of that stuff right now just based on where we’re at. But he’s made plays. This first week, he’s showing up.”
It’s still early to crown a winner
There are three reasons why it’s too early to crown a winner.
First, Dane Belton took the early lead because Tyler Nubin missed practice because of injury and not necessarily due to him struggling. Second, the Giants completed Week 2 of training camp and have plenty of practice left to go. Finally, they haven’t partaken in joint practices or preseason games yet.
Once Nubin is comfortable and fully recovers from his calf injury, and joint practice and preseason begin, we will have a better answer regarding the winner of this competition.
