New York Giants Select Dane Belton in 4th Round

Iowa Football Safety Kicks Off NFL Draft Day 3 for Hawkeyes

(Rob Howe/HawkeyeNation.com)

Iowa Football added to its legacy of defensive backs in the NFL Saturday when the New York Giants selected safety Dane Belton in the draft. The true junior from Tampa was chosen in the fourth round, the No. 144 overall. 

Belton was the second Hawkeye to hear his name called this week. The Baltimore Ravens picked center Tyler Linderbaum in Thursday's first round. 

.@dbelton_ is NY bound!

📰: https://t.co/QBJOsrgGyM pic.twitter.com/y6IEbd5ZFs

— New York Giants (@Giants) April 30, 2022

Belton (6-1, 205) became the second Iowa player to start at Cash, a hybrid safety/linebacker position created back in 2018. Amani Hooker, the man to play the position, was drafted by the Tennessee Titans with the 116th overall pick in 2019. Hooker has become a starting safety. 

The Big Ten coaches named Belton first-team all-conference in '21. His five interceptions last fall were tied for the second most in the league. He was credited with 46 tackles (29 solo, 3 for loss), seven pass breakups and three quarterback hurries. 

Belton raised his stock by supplementing his college film with strong pre-draft testing. He posted elite measurements. 

Dane Belton is a SS prospect in the 2022 draft class. He scored a 9.35 RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 52 out of 788 SS from 1987 to 2022. https://t.co/ioGgs0luxI #RAS pic.twitter.com/EOTKTjiLzy

— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) March 18, 2022

Spotrac.com shows Belton's first NFL contract to be valued at $4.4M with a $784,487 signing bonus.