Giants Have Two Defenders in Top 20 in This Stat

Two members of the Giants' defense have been making life tough for opposing receivers in this new PFF metric.

Oct 6, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; New York Giants safety Tyler Nubin (31) and cornerback Cor'Dale Flott (28) celebrate after Nubin recovered a Seattle Seahawks fumble during the second half at Lumen Field. / Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

Say what you want about the lackluster performances that the New York Giants defense has put forth on the ground in the last month of the season, but living largely through the air has not been as easy of a feat for their recent opponents. 

While the Giants have been unable to slow down the run over their last four games, allowing at least 149 yards per contest and a total of seven rushing touchdowns in the same span, they’ve found ways to hunker down on top receiving threats under defensive coordinator Shane Bowen’s system. 

Not only have they held teams below 209 passing yards in the last three matchups and are much improved on third-down stops and swallowing up space inside the red zone, but the Giants' secondary also has a couple of players who are making it difficult for their competition to even breathe in any of their routes. 

Those two defenders would be outside cornerback Cor’Dale Flott and rookie safety Tyler Nubin, who were both ranked in the top 20 in Pro Football Focus’s Week 10 lockdown report for the most successful “lockdown percentages” across the NFL in a minimum of six opportunities. 

In this new metric, the two Giants' defensive backs were measured amongst their competition for their ability to prevent an opposing receiver from getting open and creating space in coverage. 

Nubin held the top spot on the Giants’ unit with a 57.14 percent success rate in seven chances, while Flott, who had to make a big adjustment back to the perimeter in 2024, followed right behind his teammate with the exact same numbers.

The two ballhawks both had strong outings against a weak Carolina Panthers offense in Munich last Sunday, one that was averaging the lowest production numbers per game in the passing attack. They combined for 101 coverage snaps with grades above 67.0 and nearly stunted the Panthers receivers from recording any stats against their tight defensive blend of man and zone coverages. 

Nubin, one of the brightest young players on Bowen’s defense and an excellent source of tackling support in the trenches, finished his afternoon with eight tackles that led the team and two receptions for six yards. His counterpart in Flott was even more stout from the line of scrimmage by giving up a goose egg on three targets and recording one pass deflection. 

It was two of the pairing’s best outings all season long and helped lead the charge that saw Carolina collect just 126 yards in the air for their second-lowest performance behind quarterback Bryce Young. The Panthers offense doesn’t feature many deep threat looks, making it easier for Flott and Nubin to keep their top targets under 50 yards of receiving impact and no deep shots over 13.7 yards. 

Playing in the new system has played a big part in developing some of the young pieces in the Giants’ defensive backs room into the rising lockdown artists that Flott and Nubin are becoming in their aforementioned efforts, and a lot of that has to do with reducing an excess of pressures. 

The transition from relying on extra guys to contribute to exotic blitzes that leave wide open space for receivers to feast to letting them sit back and focus on playing in tighter man and quarters zone coverages gives an advantage when they’ve had to face elite speedy weapons in some of their games this season.  

As a result, their efforts in man coverage have grown into two of the sharpest tools in Bowen’s rolodex in successfully executing the man coverage game. In 77 snaps in that look, Flott is the second-best corner with a 71.2 grade that’s mustered up a 45.5 percent reception rate, three forced incompletions, two pass deflections, and one touchdown allowed. 

On Nubin’s end, whose work has also been more extensive from man because he has contributed as an underneath defender against the run, the rookie has an 83.3 percent completion rating but has only allowed 46 yards to his name and an average distance of target of 6.3 yards 

Their successes still need to translate to the rest of the line, whose lockdown percentages are much lower on the season. Still, the trend is promising in the Giants’ goal of nurturing a top-level secondary from a selection of young homegrown talent instead of overpriced veterans. 

Among the other names on the list for the year were No. 1 perimeter man Deonte Banks at 44.74 percent on 114 opportunities and rookie slot corner Andru Phillips with a 40.85 percent score on 71 changes. Phillips is another guy who should see his number in this category rise as he continues to build a penchant as one of the best inside defenders in the entire league. 

The Giants, through ten weeks of play, currently rank in the top third of teams' major passing statistics despite the dismal year. They are third in opposing pass attempts, fifth in passing yards, and 10th in touchdowns allowed, with an average pass of exactly 5.0 yards, which holds the 12th-best ranking. 

Next. 11/11: Run Defense Struggles. Giants Run Defense A Significant Factor in Team's Five-Game Slide. dark

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