No. 27 and the New York Giants Player Who Wore It Best

The countdown to the start of the New York Giants’ 2025 season is underway, as we’re now 27 days away from the opening kickoff against the Washington Commanders.

To count down the days until then, we look at the best players to wear the corresponding number for the Giants.

Who Wore No. 27 in at Least One Regular Season Game?

T Bull Morgan (1933-36), End Jiggs Kline (1939-40), T Duce Keahey (1942), End Hal Springer (1945), DB Herb Rich (1954-56), RB Steve Thurlow (1964-66), RB Steve Bowman (1966), RB Randy Minniear (1967-69), DB Mike Fitzgerald (1967), WR Bob Grim (1972-74), DB Charlie Ford (1975), RB Willie Spencer (1977-78), RB Lance Heater (1980-83), DB Herb Welch (1985-87), RB Rodney Hampton (1990-97), RB Ron Dayne (2000-04), RB Brandon Jacobs (2005-11), DB Stevie Brown (2012-14), FS Darian Thompson (2016-17), DB Deandre Baker (2019), DB Isaac Yiadom (2020), DB J.R. Reed (2021), DB Jason Pinnock (2022-24), S Tyler Nubin (2025-present)

*Jersey numbers according to Pro Football Reference.

Which Giants Player Wore it Best?

New York Giants running back Rodney Hampton was the best to wear No. 27 for Big Blue. — Oct 20, 1996; Washington, DC, USA; FILE PHOTO; New York Giants running back Rodney Hampton (27) in action against the Washington Redskins at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium. | Lou Capozzola-Imagn Images

Picking the best Giants player to wear the No. 27 jersey in their career with the franchise was a choice between two very accomplished and recently familiar players.

If you’re a younger Giants fan, you might say it’s Brandon Jacobs, but in a close review of resumes, the final decision went to a slightly older running back for those ‘90’s fans in Rodney Hampton.

A seven-year member of the Giants from 1990-97, Hampton was one of the most productive ball carriers of his time. He appeared in 104 games for Big Blue and carried the rock 1,814 times for a total of 6,897 yards (3.8 average) and 49 touchdowns while also adding 174 receptions for 1,309 yards (7.5 average) and two touchdowns in the passing game.

Hampton, a first-round pick by the Giants out of the University of Georgia, was the team’s lead running back from 1991 through 1995, when he rallied five consecutive 1,000-yard seasons and three with double-digit touchdowns on the ground.

His best season came in that last season in 1995 when he started in all 16 games and amassed 306 attempts for a career-high 1,182 yards and 10 rushing touchdowns. The only unfortunate part was that the Giants weren’t very good that season, posting a last-place 5-11 record in the NFC East for the third time in the last five seasons.

As a rookie, Hampton wasn’t the biggest key player within the Giants' offensive huddle, but he helped them take a 13-3 season, their third straight 10+ win campaign at the time, to a title in Super Bowl XXV against the Buffalo Bills. He played in 15 games during that journey and took the ball 109 times for 455 yards and two touchdowns.

Hampton would go on two more postseason runs with the Giants in 1993 and 1997, but his only really productive one came in the former when he played in two games and had 40 attempts for 173 yards and two touchdowns. The Giants would fall in the divisional round that year to cap off an 115 season.

Hampton retired at the end of the 1997 season after he was only available to play in two contests that year due to a knee injury he suffered late in the 1996 season and required a procedure during that offseason.

With all his feats immortalized in the franchise’s history, Hampton still owns five of the Giants’ top 25 , his best being his 1,182 yards in 1995 that ranks No. 11 in the hierarchy and the third highest for any player who retired prior to the 2000 season.

In addition, Hampton is a two-time Pro Bowler (1992,1993), a member of the Florida-Georgia Hall of Fame, and was inducted into the New York Giants Ring of Honor during the 2022 regular season, becoming one of nine running backs to join the special group of Giants players.

Hampton was also ranked No. 45 on the Giants’ list of the .

Who’s Wearing It Now?

Jun 17, 2025; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants safety Tyler Nubin (27) participates in a drill during minicamp at Quest Diagnostics Training Center. | John Jones-Imagn Images

After former safety Jason Pinnock wore the jersey number for the past three seasons, current Giants safety Tyler Nubin has taken it over in advance of the 2025 NFL season.

Nubin, the Giants’ 2024 second-round pick, wore No. 31 during his rookie season before switching to the new threads in advance of his sophomore campaign. He chose to switch to No. 27 after Pinnock left in free agency for its significance to his family, more specifically his late uncle, who played football with the University of Michigan in the mid-1990s.

A native of Saint Charles, Illinois, Nubin was among the most active producers at the college level during his five seasons with the University of Minnesota and brought that same capability to the NFL level.

He appeared in 13 games as a rookie before an ankle injury ended his debut season. Still, he finished second on the Giants with 98 tackles (57 solo), one pass deflection, and one forced fumble with recovery.

Nubin is eager to get back onto the football field this season and take his game to the next level. He feels like he left some things on the table in 2024 and wants to prove to the Giants and the league that he can be a real impact player for years to come.

He’ll be joined by a new veteran addition to the deep secondary in Jevon Holland, whom the Giants signed from Miami during free agency. The two are excited to team up and bring their aggressive play styles and field vision together, which should complement each other nicely and hopefully lead to a better season in coverage for the whole unit.

At the top of his mind will be improving his numbers in coverage and trying to create some turnovers, which he racked up at Minnesota before not recording a single interception with New York last season.

Nubin also contributed nicely to the Giants’ run defense and was leading the team in stops before he had to head to the sidelines for the final stretch.