Shane Bowen Says Giants' Vacant Safety Job is Dane Belton’s to Lose

Belton has been having a strong training camp.

Jul 26, 2024; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants safety Dane Belton (24) catches a pass with one hand during training camp at Quest Diagnostics Training Center. / Lucas Boland-USA TODAY Sports

The old saying is that the best ability is availability, and certainly in the case of New York Giants safety Dane Belton, that rings true.

Belton, a 2022 fourth-round pick out of Iowa, has been primarily manning the Giants other safety position left vacant following the departure of Xavier McKinney in free agency, taking advantage of the absence of Tyler Nubin, this year’s second round pick, due to a calf strain.

Belton, to his credit, has held his own, swarming around the ball and getting involved in the mix while Nubin, who returned to practice Thursday, has looked on from afar.

Belton, who has posted four interceptions in his NFL career (412 pass coverage snaps), has definitely taken advantage of his opportunities.

Defensive coordinator Shane Bowen has definitely noticed.   

“One thing I'll say for Dane is he's taken ownership of it, and he's fighting like hell to earn that job, which he should,” Bowen said Thursday before the team’s seventh training camp practice.

Belton’s limited snaps last year—he only appeared in 295 snaps versus the 400 he played in as a rookie—didn’t have as much to do with his play as it did the fact that both McKinney and Jason Pinnock rarely left the field.

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But when Pinnock had to miss the last two games of the season because of injury, Belton, who up until that point had mostly seen snaps in the  team’s dime package, stepped in and didn’t miss a beat.

Belton, whose rookie season was marred by injury, showed that he can not only play at this level, but he also had a knack for finding the ball, be it in coverage where he had two of his four career interceptions, or such as when he recorded three fumble recoveries while also showing good range in deep coverage.

The lone blip on Belton’s short NFL career so far? Missed tackles, specifically 11 over two years, eight of which came last season.

All that said, Belton certainly does have a commanding hold on McKinney’s old spot, as confirmed by Bowen, who said, “It's his job to lose right now.”

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