There’s going to be plenty to sort out across Giants training camp, but safety has a little extra juice. New faces, familiar names, and a couple of players who still haven’t fully justified their spots all make this one of the more interesting battles on the roster as camp opens July 29 in West Virginia.
For now, Jevon Holland and Tyler Nubin sit atop the depth chart. That doesn’t mean either job is untouchable.
Holland arrived last offseason on a three-year, $45.3 million deal with $30.3 million guaranteed, brought in to be a difference-maker on the back end. Instead, he was more steady than special.
In 512 coverage snaps, he finished with one interception and five pass breakups. His overall Pro Football Focus grade was 58.4, which ranked 51st out of 65 qualifying safeties.
His Pro Football Impact Score came in at 76.6, 38th among 85 qualifiers, and PFSN slotted him 79th in run support and 54th in playmaking.
That’s a long way from the impact the Giants were paying for. And the bigger issue may be that Holland’s 2024 looked a lot like the player he’s been throughout his career.
His PFSN Impact Score rankings have ranged from a career-best of 31st in 2024 to a career-worst of 46th in 2024. Over five NFL seasons, he has never had more than two interceptions in a year, and his best turnover season came in 2023, when he forced four total turnovers - one interception and three fumbles.
Defensive pass game coordinator Donald D’Alesio said Holland “knows there were plays that he had last year that he wants back.” D’Alesio also said Holland sometimes tries to do too much and “doesn’t end up doing what he’s supposed to do.”
At 26 and entering his sixth NFL season, Holland may simply be who he is: not a liability, but not the kind of player who changes games on his own.
Nubin’s path has been different, but the results have been just as underwhelming so far. The second-round pick out of Minnesota in 2024 came with a reputation for making plays - 13 interceptions, 11 passes defensed and three forced fumbles in 55 college games - but that production hasn’t carried over.
In 26 NFL games, including 24 starts, Nubin has yet to intercept a pass. He has one forced fumble and three passes defensed. His PFSN Impact Score ranked 68th among 85 qualifying safeties.
The athletic profile has also been a concern. His Relative Athletic Score was 3.67 on a 10-point scale, and at times the lack of burst has shown up in the form of poor angles that have led to big plays.
The Giants worked on that with him last season, and another year of experience could help. So could the more aggressive scheme expected under defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson.
Of the two starters, Nubin looks like the more vulnerable one.
Behind them, Jason Pinnock and Ar’Darius Washington are the most obvious challengers for playing time. Pinnock is back with the Giants for a second stint, and his best football came in 2023 under Wink Martindale’s ultra-aggressive defense. That year, he posted two interceptions, six pass breakups, two forced fumbles and two sacks in 17 games and starts, and PFSN ranked him as the 10th-best safety in the league.
He didn’t match that in 2024, then spent last season as a part-time player for the San Francisco 49ers after leaving the Giants in free agency. Still, Wilson’s scheme is expected to borrow some of the same aggressive ideas Martindale used, and that could fit Pinnock’s attacking style.
In 2023, he blitzed a career-high 36 times. In 2024, that number dropped to 13.
Washington brings a different kind of value. He can line up at safety or in the slot, and his familiarity with John Harbaugh, Wilson and several other coaches from his five years with the Baltimore Ravens gives him a head start. He started only 11 games in those five seasons, 10 of them in 2024, but he did get some first-team work at both nickel corner and safety during the spring.
D’Alesio called him “a chess piece,” adding, “He’s gonna play safety, he’s gonna play nickel, he can play dime if we need him to.
“That’s the beautiful thing about Ar’Darius. In a pinch, he can go play any position on the back end that we need him to.”
If the Giants keep a fifth safety, the most likely names are Elijah Campbell or Raheem Layne. Campbell is entering his seventh season and has built his career mostly on special teams.
He has appeared in 68 NFL games but started only three on defense. Last season with Miami, he played just 16 defensive snaps, and his career high came in 2023 with 122.
Layne, 27, came into the league as an undrafted free agent with the Chargers in 2022. Across four NFL seasons with Los Angeles and the Giants, he has played in 16 games. In two years with New York, he appeared in five games and made two starts.
Injuries have slowed him down, too. Knee injuries in 2023 with the Chargers and 2024 with the Giants, along with a groin injury last season, have repeatedly gotten in the way.
In Other News...
Giants Rookie Colton Hood Is Suddenly At Center Of A Huge Battle
The Giants are still sorting out their cornerback picture, and rookie Colton Hood has pushed his way into the conversation at exactly the right time. With Paulson Adebo locked into one side, the real question has become who can handle the job opposite him, especially after Greg Newsome II and Deonte Banks have both left the team looking for more stability on the back end.
Hood has given the staff reasons to believe he can be part of the answer, even if the learning curve is still obvious. Addison Lynch and Donald DAlesio have both praised the way he has handled spring work and said he looks like he belongs, but they have also pointed to the finer points of NFL coverage that still need tightening up, which is why this battle feels far from settled. [Read more 🡒]
John Michael Schmitz Could Create A Familiar Giants Problem
John Michael Schmitz is heading into a pivotal stretch for the Giants, and it is one that could end up looking a lot like a problem this franchise has seen before. The 2023 second-round pick is now in the final year of his rookie contract, which means his next season will do more than just help stabilize the middle of the offensive line. It could also determine whether New York is staring at a difficult decision on a young player it drafted to be part of the solution.
If Schmitz takes another step forward, the Giants may not be the only team paying attention. A strong year could put him on track to be one of the more attractive centers on the market, and that is where the tension starts to build for a team that would prefer to avoid another expensive search at a premium position. The fallback possibilities are there in theory, but neither Ted Karras nor Andre James looks like the kind of answer that would quiet the long-term questions for good. [Read more 🡒]
Braxton Berrios Has A Real Chance To Change Giants Fans Minds
Braxton Berrios arrived in New York with the kind of resume that usually points first to special teams, and that is still the clearest path for him to help the Giants. He was signed primarily as a kick returner, and with the return jobs open, he enters camp in a real competition for those spots. For a team looking to sharpen every edge on the roster, that alone gives Berrios a meaningful lane to stick.
But there is a little more here than just field position. Berrios also gets a chance to show he can be part of the receiver mix as training camp unfolds, which is the sort of opportunity that can quietly change how a player is viewed inside a building. If he handles the return game and gives the offense something useful on the side, the Giants may find themselves with a tougher decision than they expected. [Read more 🡒]