Giants selected Minnesota S Tyler Nubin with the No. 47 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
The Giants acquired this pick in the deal for Leonard Williams, and they use it to procure help in the secondary. Nubin (6’1/205) comes from a family of athletes, with his parents both lettering at Eastern Michigan and his brother, Jordan, walking on to the Minnesota football team and leading the Gophers in rushes this year. A three-star cornerback from the 2019 class, he spent most of his freshman season on special teams and as an apprentice to Tampa Bay star S Antoine Winfield before taking his starting spot when Winfield left for the NFL in 2020. He lined up in the slot at a 2-to-1 ratio over the course of his Minnesota career as a four-year starter and all-time interceptions leader in Gophers history. His Minnesota career culminated with the defender leading all FBS safeties in PFF cover grade and completion rate (30%) en route to Second Team All-American honors. Nubin had meniscus surgery after the season which contributed to him skipping the Combine and posting a decent 4.59s 40-yard dash (70th%) to go with a brutal 4.51s shuttle (18th%) and 31.5” vertical (24th%). His raptor-like 32” arms are ideal for the safety position, but Nubin’s 10 bench reps and 3.72 RAS isn’t a particularly encouraging score from an athleticism standpoint. Nubin is a well-schooled playmaker with the range of a converted cornerback and aggression of a second-line enforcer. He didn’t commit a single coverage penalty last season and is flexible enough to line up all over the formation. Wildly productive on both defense and special teams, Nubin isn’t a heat seeker in blitz packages but projects as a reliable free safety starter who brings his lunch pail to work everyday.
