Tyler Nubin came into the NFL with the reputation of a safety who could hunt the football. At Minnesota, he built that case the hard way: 13 interceptions, 11 passes defensed and three forced fumbles across 55 games. That kind of résumé is exactly why the Giants grabbed him 47th overall in the 2024 NFL Draft after seeing Julian Love and Xavier McKinney depart in free agency in back-to-back offseasons.
Two seasons into his NFL run, though, the splash plays still haven’t shown up. In 26 games, Nubin has only three passes defensed, one fumble recovery and no interceptions.
Now he’s betting that a different defensive setup can help change that.
On Tuesday, Nubin said defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson’s system feels familiar to what he did in college, and he believes it can put him in position to make more plays on the ball.
“It’s (Wilson’s scheme) great, man. It gives you a lot of opportunity to make plays. You got your eyes on the quarterback, and I think that’s something that I do very well, so something I’m really comfortable with, something I did a lot in college, so it’s going to be good,” Nubin said on Tuesday.
He also described the defense as one that encourages aggression from the back end.
“I think Dennard always has opportunistic defenses, looking back where he’s been, because they attack, and they make the offense think, gets them on their heels a little bit, whether that’s with the disguises or how we’re playing things, certain concepts. We can have our eyes on the quarterback and really go attack the football, so yeah, I think it’s definitely going to give me a really good opportunity for sure.”
Wilson’s coverage is zone-heavy, with plenty of two-high safety looks, quarters coverage and cornerbacks pressing receivers hard at the line.
When asked how a zone defense can still be considered attacking, Nubin pointed to the personnel around him.
“Because it’s aggressive, man, especially when you have corners who can cover, especially when you have linebackers like we have. (Inside linebacker) Tremaine (Edmunds) and (inside linebacker) Arvell (Reese), who’s going to make that ball sail over the top.”
Nubin said. “It allows you to be more aggressive on keying into the quarterback and where he’s going and jumping routes, whether that’s across the middle, whether that’s deep post routes, going to the post.
So, it just allows you to go attack the football.”
Nubin also made a physical tweak this offseason, trimming eight pounds to get back to his rookie weight. He’s now around 205 pounds again after playing last season at roughly 213 or 214.
“Just speed, man,” Nubin said when asked why he shed the weight. “I think my rookie year I played at like 205.
Last year I was at like 213, 214. And right now, I’m like 205, 206, around there.
So, I just wanted more for speed. I feel like I’m the strongest I’ve ever been, best shape I’ve ever been.
So, I like this weight. I think I’m moving well.”
The big takeaway from camp so far: the ball hasn’t found him yet. But both Nubin and the Giants are waiting for that to change.
Head coach John Harbaugh said he likes the way Nubin is working and thinks the production will follow.
“I think he’s doing a good job. I do like the way he’s practicing.
He’s a very determined, very serious-minded guy. He really wants to do well,” said head coach John Harbaugh.
“He thinks about everything. He asks all the right questions.
Sometimes you want to just say, “Hey, it’s not that complicated.” But you appreciate that about a player like that.
So, I expect him to get back to where he was in college with the ball production. That would be great.
“I’d love to see him get his hands on a lot of footballs.”
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