Packers Need Safety, and Gophers’ Tyler Nubin Can ‘Do It All’
GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers will enter the 2024 NFL Draft with a major need at safety. While new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley will bring a different scheme, general manager Brian Gutekunst will be looking for the same type of players.
Versatile, with the athleticism to play deep against the pass and the toughness to line up near the line of scrimmage to stop the run.
Minnesota’s Tyler Nubin might be that player.
“I’m not a one-dimensional safety. I can do it all,” Nubin said on Thursday at the Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.
That statement is backed up by a ream of data from Pro Football Focus. You name the situation, Nubin was at or near the head of the class.
“Offensive coordinators are getting really creative, so you’ve got to get creative on defense. You need guys that can move around and do different things for you. I think I’m that player and I think I can bring that to a team.”
The 6-foot-1, 199-pounder intercepted 12 passes during his final three seasons for the Golden Gophers. With that type of playmaking ability and the expectation that he will be near the top of the class in the physical testing, Nubin has positioned himself to be the first safety off the board.
“Just trusting what God gave me,” Nubin explained. “He blessed me with a lot of physical attributes, but I feel like my mental attributes are what really ties into that and helps me make those type of plays.”
He praised his collegiate defensive coordinator, Joe Rossi, who now holds that same title at Michigan State, for putting him in the right position.
“He’s one of the smartest guys I’ve ever been around,” Nubin said. “He does a really good job of preparing us and letting us know what’s going to come and the things that their offensive coordinator is going to try to do throughout the game. So, I really took that to heart and I did a lot of extra film study and things like that myself. There wasn’t really a game where I didn’t know what was coming.”
Also key to his development was spending his freshman year alongside former Golden Gophers safety and current NFL star Antoine Winfield, a 2023 All-Pro and 2024 free agent.
“He definitely set the standard,” Nubin said. “Honestly, a lot of my game and a lot of how I approach the game came from Antoine Winfield Jr., just being able to see how he carried himself as a pro in the building before he was a pro, how he watched film, how he attacked practice, his pure intensity and love and passion for the game. That's what I really admired when I first got to Minnesota. I saw how that translated on the field into how he played. So, every single day, I tried to emulate that.”
As Nubin addressed reporters, he wore a necklace with a diamond-encrusted No. 27. That’s the number worn by his uncle, Steve King, who played cornerback alongside Packers legend Charles Woodson at Michigan. King, who died in 2014, was the one who taught Nubin how to catch a ball and play defensive back.
“He was really, really close with me and my family, especially me, coming up throughout my football career,” Nubin said. “He was at every single game almost. When he passed away, I just wanted to carry on his legacy, because he was the first one to wear 27. That’s super-important to me. That's why I [wore] 27 throughout high school and college and, hopefully, I can bring it to the NFL.”
Nubin earned first- and second-team All-American honors in 2023, when he posted a career-high five interceptions on the way to a school career-record 13. He had knee surgery to repair a meniscus injury after the season but said he’ll be ready to roll for his new team.
Maybe that will be the Packers, who might have No. 27 available – running back Patrick Taylor is a restricted free agent – and surely will be in the market for a safety with one of their five picks in the first three rounds. No. 25 of the first round or No. 41 of the second round could be options for a player who is ready to lead through word and deed.
“I think my leadership style is something that I can bring to the NFL,” he said. “And what I learned as a leader at Minnesota, I’m a confrontational guy. I’m somebody that’s not afraid to speak up when you need to, but I’m also a guy that knows when to step back and learn and to listen. I believe God gave us two eyes and two ears and only one mouth for a reason because, as a leader, you’ve got to know when to step back and when to listen.”
