Giants Safety Depth Chart 2026: Can Dennard Wilson Unlock Jevon Holland and Tyler Nubin?

The New York Giants have looked to build out multiple areas they felt were weaker this offseason, but one group they did not really address as heavily as was expected was the safeties.

Outside of some smaller moves, such as signing Ar'Darius Washington and bringing back Jason Pinnock, there have been no real major shakeups at the position.

This means the organization must feel the answer is within, and they've brought in a coordinator to hopefully bring out the most from the players on the roster.

Giants Safety Depth Chart: Projected Starters

New York Giants safety Tyler Nubin | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Jevon Holland: It’s intriguing to see if this new defense can bring back the Jevon Holland of his rookie season with the Dolphins. That season, he had two interceptions, 10 passes defensed, 2.5 sacks, and 65 tackles. That is the definition of affecting the game at all levels.

It's not that his first season with the Giants was horrible. It's just that it wasn't the game-changing effect many hoped it would be when he signed the big-money deal last offseason. If he fits into this defense the way we believe he can, he could make that contract he signed seem like a bargain.

Tyler Nubin: Nubin was a legitimate playmaker during his final season in Minnesota. It's one of the reasons why the Giants took him, thinking he would be a replacement for the safeties they let go in free agency.

However, he has not shown that playmaking ability over his first two years in the league. This is a chance for him, in a defense set up for a guy to be a playmaker at the second or third level, to show that it wasn't a wasted draft pick to bring him in.

He has a physical stature very similar to Baltimore Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton. The question remains: can he add the playmaking ability?

Giants Safety Depth Chart: Reserves

Sep 8, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants safety Jason Pinnock | John Jones-Imagn Images

Ar’Darius Washington: Washington should be able to have an impact on this defense in a couple of ways. The first and most obvious way is his ability to help others get acclimated to the defensive scheme, which should be fairly similar to the one he played in Baltimore.

The second is as a reliable rotational piece in the secondary. Washington is not the biggest safety, but he plays big.

He also possesses the versatility to play on the third level as a safety or drop down to play in nickel or dime packages. If a starting safety goes down, he has the experience to hold the fort until they are ready to return to their normal roles.

Jason Pinnock: Pinnock is back after a season with the 49ers, where he started seven of the 17 games that he played in. That's a far cry from the 32 starts over two seasons during his first stint with New York. He clearly learned that the grass isn't always greener, even if the money is.

Now he's back in New York, hoping to reclaim the position he held for two years before he left. That obviously won't be easy, given the money and draft capital invested in the two guys who are slated to be starters, but it doesn't mean it's impossible. It all will come down to how he fits into this new system.

Elijah Campbell: Campbell is preparing for his seventh season in the league and his first with the Giants. He came to New York after five seasons in Miami, where he operated primarily on special teams.

He hopes to make this squad by showing the value he provided to the Dolphins as a special teamer on a Giants special teams unit that can always use an upgrade. His story of perseverance is admirable, and he hopes to continue to write more pages in this chapter.

Beau Brade: Brade was a primary special teamer last season for the New York Giants. Going into his third season, he will look to lock down a special teams position again.

It won't be easy, as there is more competition for special teams spots than in 2025. Brade will need to make an early impact in training camp to stand out among the suitors for the positions.

Raheem Layne: Raheem Layne is back for a full season with the New York Giants, hoping to make the 53-man roster and stick there for the entirety of the year.

Last season, he showed some ability as a rotational safety, starting two games for the Giants down the stretch. He will need to add more special teams viability if he wants a chance to stand out from all of the others vying for those positions this season.

Draft Picks

No players were drafted or signed as undrafted free agents.

What We Know

Safety play will be familiar to Big Blue Nation, even if it's new to the actual safeties.

New York Giants safety Jevon Holland | John Jones-Imagn Images

Giants head coach John Harbaugh went out and hired a familiar face in former Titans defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson. Wilson's system will look familiar to many in Big Blue Nation, as it has many similarities to former defensive coordinator Wink Martindale's system.

Both guys were with the Ravens, and Wilson essentially learned the bones of his system from what Martindale was doing in Baltimore.

The added bonus for New York is that Wilson has a track record of getting the best out of defensive backs and should be able to elevate both Holland and Nubin to the best versions of themselves. Both safeties, along with the other defensive backs, will need to learn how to play in the system.

The only safety who should have a leg up is Ar’Darius Washington, who comes from the Ravens and has an understanding of the structure of this system. This system allows for the safeties to be playmakers at all levels, aggressive and consistently hunting the football.

What We Don’t Know

Do the Giants have the players to defend the third level?

This defense allows safeties to play at all three levels and especially gets them involved in run defense. The run defense was definitely an issue last season, and the safeties were part of the reason.

Seeing that improvement happen is a must. However, the honest truth is that people will want to know if these safeties can do a better job of protecting the third level.

The inadequate run defense led to sustained drives for opponents, but the failure to secure the third level led to touchdowns and, in many cases, back-breaking scores that immediately flipped the game in favor of the Giants' opponents.

This unit will need to prove that they have what it takes to limit teams from exploiting their shortcomings on deep fade passes down the sideline, vertical routes down the field, and deep shots down the middle.

Nubin has not proven that he can be a consistent option at the third level. Holland, while extremely athletic, has historically done his best work at the intermediate level. Washington and Pinnock could be legit options there, but they will need to push for expanded roles on defense.

Those four safeties are the only guys on the roster who have legitimate experience at the position. Everyone else is more of a special teams addition. That makes it even more important for those guys to pick up the defense and focus on executing at the highest level.

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