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New York Giants safety Tyler Nubin Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

NY Giants Safeties Delivered an Underwhelming Showing in 2025

Originally posted on New York Giants on SI | Last updated Jan 26, 2026 12:00 PM ET

The New York Giants' safety group had what can best be described as an off year.

Part of that was due to injury–Jevon Holland, one of the key offseason signings from last offseason, missed three games, and his fellow starter, Tyler Nubin, missed four.

Injuries aside, the unit was pedestrian at best. According to Pro Football Focus, across their combined 1,546 pass coverage plays, the Giants' safeties allowed 74 receptions, recorded just eight pass breakups, 12 missed tackles, two interceptions, 29 stops, and 96 tackles.

They also forced only 10 incompletions, gave up 9 touchdowns, and were nailed for 8 penalties.

That kind of pedestrian production leaves one wondering whether the team plans to upgrade the position. Dane Belton is an unrestricted free agent, but he was also the most consistent performer of the group.

The Giants’ 2024 second-round pick, Tyler Nubin, who showed flashes of promise as a rookie, regressed between taking bad angles and just failing to make plays in general.

Perhaps the incoming defensive scheme that Dennard Wilson is bringing will fix whatever bogged down Nubin and Holland. But we also would not be surprised if the Giants add to this rather underwhelming position group.

Jevon Holland

One of the team’s big-ticket offseason signings, Holland stepped right into a starting role, playing a lot of deep safety (535 snaps to only 190 in the box), which kept his season numbers down.

Holland posted 59 tackles (30 in coverage), five pass breakups, one interception, and a 96-yard pick-6 that was taken away by an offsides penalty.

The opposition avoided Holland because the other safeties were much easier to exploit in coverage. Still, Holland was a versatile performer who played some man but mostly zone coverage, and tackled reasonably well, missing just seven tackles all season, two of those coming in run support.

He was more athletic and disciplined than his peers, oftentimes covering up for missed assignments.

With three years left on his contract, Holland is a solid safety who should be in Giants blue for the duration.

Tyler Nubin

Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

This second-year player is the secondary’s most physical tackler. A true downhill safety, Nubin is most effective around the line of scrimmage.

He’s still growing into his game, losing some plays to bad angles and over-committing to filling inside gaps while leaving the edges exposed.

Nubin is a liability in coverage, rarely forcing an errant throw and too often in the vicinity of blown assignments or wide-open receivers.

In two years’ worth of starts, he has zero interceptions and only 3 pass breakups, though he is a consistent tackling machine.

Nubin has missed 4 games to injury in each of his two seasons; this year, it was an ankle.

He plays a hard, physical game but rarely a cerebral one. If he were a bit bigger, his game would fit better at inside linebacker.

The team invested a premium pick on him, so they’re going to give him a long look–and it looks like he’s gonna need it.

Dane Belton

Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

A pending free agent, we see Belton as a no-brainer re-signing for all the things that he does. He’s easily the team’s best special teamer with his team-leading 20 tackles while manning the fullback role on punts.

Belton’s weakness is deep coverage, where he lacks the agility to turn and go with speed. He actually has good straight-line speed, but not the agility to play single high.

He’s physical, and like Nubin, he’s very comfortable around the line of scrimmage.

Unlike Nubin, Belton has an instinct for the game and is always around the ball. In his four seasons, he’s recorded 6 INTs, 4 sacks, 4 forced fumbles, 4 recovered fumbles, and 16 pass breakups.

He just played all 17 games in his best season as a pro, finishing second on the team with 120 tackles. He did all this while playing part-time snaps most of the year.

Like Dru Phillips, Belton needs to be on the field a lot more than he has been so far.

Raheem Layne

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Layne spent most of his 2025 season on the Giants' practice squad. In his three evaluations, he recorded 9 tackles in a backup role, which is solid production.

Layne is not fast or athletic enough to handle multiple coverages, but he has a physicality to his game that tends to stop ball carriers in their tracks.

He has another year left on his contract, so expect him to return as a depth safety this summer.

Beau Brade

Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

Brade was picked up by the Giants off waivers on cutdown day. We were expecting more of an impact from this well-built 23-year-old, but in 15 games, he managed only 2 tackles on special teams and was only given a handful of snaps on defense in mop-up situations.

Raheem Layne was given the safety playing time when injuries hit, while Brade remained glued to the bench.

With another year left on his contract, it seems logical that Brade will return for another shot at it, but his invisible play while being carried the entire season certainly gives one pause.