Giants’ Tyler Nubin on quest to regain ball-hawking prowess

It is one of those questions that usually prompts a familiar refrain.

Ask a defensive back about his hands — as in, his ability to catch the football — and he will proudly proclaim they are just fine, thank you.

This, of course, flies in the face of so much evidence created during training camps far and near, when the ball is in the air and a defensive player fails to secure it. That prompts the unkind comment: That’s why he plays defensive back and not wide receiver.

Tyler Nubin takes exception to this train of thought.

“Very confident, very confident,’’ he said, when he was asked what he feels about his hands. “I showed them my whole career.’’

Well, Nubin certainly showed them during a five-year college stay at Minnesota, where in 55 games he came away with 13 interceptions. That ball-hawking prowess was one of the traits that the Giants appreciated when they made him a second-round pick in the 2024 draft.

Nubin started the first 13 games of his rookie season before an ankle injury cut short his first year in the NFL. At the time of the injury, Nubin led the team with 98 tackles.

But he did not have a single interception.

Nubin looked back on every snap from his rookie year and determined he will never again go a full season without an interception.

“I mean, I believe in myself more than anybody else ever can,’’ Nubin said. “I feel like that every game, whether I have zero picks or two or three, there’s going to be something I can look at, ‘Man, I could have had another one.’

“That’s just football, that’s just the game. I don’t dwell too much on it. I don’t count how many picks I had the year before because you got to do it again the next year — whether I had 20 picks last year you would be still telling me, ‘Hey how are gonna get 20 picks again this year?’ Every year’s a new year, so I’m not really worried about that.’’

The Giants this past offseason revamped their secondary, signing cornerback Paulson Adebo and safety Jevon Holland, two young veterans — Holland is 25, Adebo is 26 — with extensive starting experience with their previous teams.

Adebo accumulated 10 interceptions for the Saints and Holland had five for the Dolphins.

Something had to change with a Giants defensive backfield that last season went an NFL-record 11 consecutive games without an interception, and only the Browns managed to get fewer interceptions than the five the Giants got their hands on.

Nubin knows that needs to be fixed.

“Being in an attack mindset, that’s been really what my goals are here and just doing my job,’’ he said. “That’s what I’m focusing on every single day. I know it’s gonna come, I’m not really worried about it.

“Instincts, man, and just being in the right place at the right time. That is what I try to do, being in the right place so I have the opportunity to read the quarterback and make breaks on the ball. That’s what I’m focusing on.’’

With the addition of Holland — who primarily played a deep safety spot with the Dolphins — Nubin might be asked to line up more frequently in the box. That could cut into his opportunities for interceptions.

Asked to assess the defensive backfield, veteran wide receiver Darius Slayton referred to the back end first.

“I think it starts with Holland and Nubin,’’ Slayton said. “Nubes is a pit bull. He gets under his tackles. He’s physical. But he’s also rangy. Holland has added a good dimension of range to our defense. He’s also a willing tackler, but what stood out is his ability to cover sideline to sideline and get to the deep ball, and also track and catch the deep ball. It’s something that he’s flashed a lot during camp, and I think will be a big addition for us.’’

Nubin is part of a 2024 draft class that made an impact last season and figures to do so again, with receiver Malik Nabers, running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. and tight end Theo Johnson starters on offense, and Nubin and cornerback Dru Phillips starters on defense.

“I’ve got a lot of goals for myself this year, but I’m going to keep those to myself,” Nubin said. “I’m going to let my play speak for it and let everybody else decide what it is, at the end of the day.

“I always want to be an impact player. That’s what I pride myself on, is being somebody that when it’s crunch time I’m going to show up.”