Gophers great Tyler Nubin named 'dark-horse' rookie of the year candidate

Nubin is getting some love ahead of his rookie season.

East Rutherford , NJ — May 10, 2024 -- Second round draft pick safety Tyler Nubin as the NY Giants hold their Rookie Camp and introduce their new draft picks. / Chris Pedota, NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK

Tyler Nubin, whose 13 interceptions in college are a Gophers program record, was selected by the New York Giants with the 47th pick in this spring's NFL draft. He was Minnesota's only player drafted this year.

On the Giants' first unofficial depth chart of the season, Nubin was listed as the No. 2 strong safety behind Dane Belton. NFL.com's Lance Zierlein still thinks he can be a dark-horse candidate to win NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year.

"Nubin was a four-year starter at Minnesota and his tape is filled with the consistent anticipation and instincts one might expect from a player with so much experience," Zierlein wrote. "His recognition talent and ball skills give him a chance to make plays on the football at a high enough rate to make his way into the DROY conversation."

Nubin will obviously need to get as much playing time as possible to put himself into the rookie of the year mix. That would begin with becoming a starter over Belton, who was a fourth-round pick by New York out of Iowa in 2022. After the Giants let starting safety Xavier McKinney leave in free agency this offseason, Belton and Jason Pinnock are currently projected to be their starters at the position.

Belton has started just seven games in his two-year NFL career, but he earned an impressive 84.9 Pro Football Focus (PFF) defensive grade last season. Still, the Giants have a new defensive coordinator in Shane Bowen and spent a top-50 draft pick on Nubin, so it's only a matter of time until he gets an opportunity to play a significant role.

The former Gophers star missed some time at the start of training camp due to injury, but he returned to the field in full capacity last week. Zierlein mentioned that no safety has won DROY since Mark Carrier did it for the Chicago Bears in 1990. It's a long shot, but perhaps Nubin could end that streak.

Most betting markets give Nubin +5000 odds to win the award, which is an implied probablity of less than 2%. Since the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year award was created in 1967, Minnesota has not had a former player take home the honor.