Can Nic Jones Reinvent Himself as a Versatile DB Before the Giants Run Out of Roster Spots?

In 2025, the New York Giants secondary as a unit underperformed consistently, unable to play coverage long enough without committing penalties.

Opposing offenses averaged 7.8 yards per play when targeting slot receivers against the Giants, tied for the 13th-worst mark in the NFL.

Cornerback Nic Jones probably isn’t going to help the cause all that much as he projects as more of a depth piece and a special teams player, lining up mostly as a gunner.

With the cornerback depth looking a lot better these days, is there a role for Jones beyond special teams, which isn’t even a sure thing given all the new faces the team added?

Nic Jones, CB

Height: 6-0
Weight: 189
EXP: 3 Years
School: Ball State
How Acquired: FA-’25

2025 in Review

Jones played significant snaps during all three of the Giants' preseason games in 2025, spending the first two games of the summer in the nickel and the third game as a deep safety.

Once the regular season came around, he became a non-factor defensively, playing just 20 snaps in four games throughout the year. In those snaps, Jones allowed two catches on three targets for 39 yards, with both catches coming against the Detroit Lions.

Jones earned his money on special teams, where he played on all the units except kickoff return and on the field goal unit. Jones registered 8 total tackles on the season, as well as a pass breakup.

His main role, again, was as a punt gunner, but he didn’t make a difference. While he was able to finish tackles thanks to his good size, his limited athleticism and lack of quick-twitch in his lower half led to several missed tackles that hurt.

Contract/Cap Info

The Giants signed Jones to a futures contract following the 2024 season, and after that contract expired this year, the team re-signed him this offseason to a one-year contract for $1,075,000 total, with no money guaranteed.

With Jones set to make $1,075,000 with no guarantees, if he doesn’t make the roster, the Giants could cut ties with him without a dead cap penalty.

2026 Preview

Jones is in an interesting situation: he plays primarily nickel, which gives him a specialized role that few can play and is seeing increased value in modern football, but also one that rarely earns a dedicated roster spot.

This means that if Jones doesn’t solidify himself as a top two nickel on the team, then he may be on the outside looking in come roster cutdown time.

The expectation is that slot cornerback Dru Phillips will be on the roster in 2026 regardless of whether he maintains his starting job, and that leaves one nickel spot available through the summer.

It appears clear that versatility is a must in this Giants secondary, considering how many players they brought in that can line up at least two of the four spots in the secondary: outside cornerback, nickel, deep safety, and box safety.

While Jones has never spent time at safety during the regular season, that one game in the 2025 preseason was the test to see if he could contribute there, and it wouldn’t be surprising if the new staff chose to put him there this preseason as well to see if it’s a viable option for him.

In college, Jones played almost exclusively on the outside during his final three seasons and has seen sporadic snaps there in the preseason, giving him another position where he could fill a role.

While the conversation will then become, “Can he line up at multiple positions or can he actually offer quality snaps at any one spot?” being able to line up at multiple positions without being abysmal does provide value and can separate the bottom of the roster.

The ability to take on a more consistent role on special teams would also benefit Jones as the Giants try to sort through their secondary, which right now has a surplus of players.

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