He hasn’t lived up to the billing as a second-round pick expected to be a dynamic hard-hitting safety, but Tyler Nubin is still being moved into an “important” role among the starters for the New York Giants. At least during OTAs.
Nubin spent practice on Thursday, May 21 occupying “the important role as the personal protector with the starting punt team,” according to Dan Duggan of The Athletic. The latter noted how “In recent years, that role had been filled by Dane Belton, who signed with the New York Jets in free agency.”
Relegation to football’s third phase needn’t be viewed as a fall from grace for Nubin, the 47th player selected in the 2024 NFL draft. Not when the Giants are making improvement on special teams an emphasis under new head coach John Harbaugh, evidenced by their “spending the first 16 minutes of practice working on punt coverage,” per Duggan.
Becoming a key member of the kick coverage teams is a way for Nubin to repair his damaged stock in the pros. He was supposed to be a culture-setting impact player on the back end of a fearsome defense, but Nubin, like the overall unit for the Giants, has consistently failed to live up to breakout hype.
Too many missed tackles have doomed the 24-year-old, who could find himself forced down an increasingly crowded depth chart at a safety by a Harbaugh favorite.
Tyler Nubin Needs to Seize Key Special Teams Role
Harbaugh’s arrival has created the possibility of an unlikely reprieve for Nubin. The new man in charge once became a rising star in the assistant coaching ranks thanks to his work on special teams, notably with Big Blue’s NFC East rivals the Philadelphia Eagles.
Winning every phase of the kicking game will be a point of pride, who consistently coaxed outstanding special teams play from the Baltimore Ravens for 18 years. A big part of owning the niche areas within football’s third phase is dominating the field position battle.
Nubin can help the Giants do this in multiple ways. Mostly by keeping projected starting punter Jordan Stout clean and free to pin opposing teams deep with angled kicks.
Stout is an underrated weapon as an All-Pro and Pro Bowler on Harbaugh’s watch with the Ravens in 2025. An impressive 24 of Stout’s punts were downed inside the 20-yard line, a big reason why the Ravens allowed only 159 return yards all season, per Pro Football Reference.
Harbaugh trusting Nubin to protect this valuable an asset is no-small show of faith in a player who has struggled mightily at his primary position.
Giants Can Reset at Safety
Nubin has been given every chance to cement himself as a starting safety for the Giants, but injuries and inconsistent technique have doomed his prospects. He’s missed eight games since being drafted, beginning his rookie campaign on injured reserve because of an ankle problem, before ending his second season on IR with a neck issue.
When Nubin’s been on the field, he’s missed 13 tackles and allowed double-digit yards per completion in coverage, according to Pro Football Reference. Numbers like these explain why the Giants reunited with a big-play veteran during free agency.
More experience and stronger competition are needed at the safety spots, where Nubin’s fellow 2025 starter Jevon Holland has also struggled to live up to his price tag. While Holland might struggle to adapt to a demotion, Nubin appears to have a clear route to remaining firmly in Harbaugh’s plans as a viable starter in a different, but arguably no less important, spot for the Giants.
Giants Moving Draft Bust into ‘Important’ Starting Role