Could Minnesota safety Tyler Nubin be the top safety prospect in the 2024 NFL Draft? There are more than a few competitors to contend with, but Nubin’s tape is some of the best around, and his track record as a playmaker is nearly unmatched.
Tyler Nubin Draft Profile and Measurements
- Height: 6’2″
- Weight: 210 pounds
- Position: Safety
- School: Minnesota
- Current Year: Redshirt Senior
Good football players always manage to leave a legacy. Nubin can say he did that more than most with the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
Of course, Nubin has plenty of future NFL defensive backs to thank for helping him go from being a four-star recruit to a first-team All-Big Ten honoree. Across his five-year career, he played with Antoine Winfield Jr., Benjamin St-Juste, Jordan Howden, and Terell Smith.
But ultimately, it was Nubin himself who distinguished himself as a top-level playmaker in the latter years of his Minnesota career. From 2019 through 2023, Nubin amassed 13 picks and 11 pass deflections — breaking the Minnesota school record for career interceptions.
Tyler Nubin is a SS prospect in the 2024 draft class. He scored a 3.72 #RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 679 out of 1079 SS from 1987 to 2024. https://t.co/AD9VqOONQ3 pic.twitter.com/ponPnDr5lw
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) April 24, 2024
Nubin’s production demands attention, and it’s a byproduct of his traits, but how does the film speak in favor of his NFL projection?
Nubin’s Scouting Report
Strengths
- Sports a strong, lean frame with excellent proportional length.
- Explosive closer who can sear downhill in support and launch into passing lanes.
- Fluid mover for his size, who can suddenly sink and recover positioning out of stems.
- Energetic, twitched-up lateral mover who varies technique with suddenness and control.
- Elite processor and active communicator with two-high and single-high capabilities.
- Has excellent instincts and feel for positioning and hip leverage when playing in space.
- Efficient pedal technique and throttle freedom allow him to adapt as routes overlap.
- Rapidly keys in on QB’s intent and can jump routes with instant reaction speed.
- Uses quick processing and fierce targeted physicality to jar and gather WRs at stems.
- Sharp route recognition ability allows him to stay disciplined and avoid eye manipulation.
- Patiently keeps windows open and dangles ill-advised throws in front of hasty passers.
- Has enough half-field range to cover ground to the sideline and close passing windows.
- Extremely authoritative and coordinated playmaking threat with elite ball skills.
- Plays smart and angry in run support, surges downhill, and seals off angles and lanes.
- Has the play strength and competitiveness to take on blocks and make solo tackles.
Weaknesses
- Explosiveness, while great, isn’t quite quantifiably elite when instant recovery is needed.
- Doesn’t quite have elite sinking capacity when following sharp in-breaking routes.
- Long speed is closer to average than elite, which can limit range on the chase.
- Lacking long speed sometimes limits his ability to cut off paths upfield for runners.
- Sometimes idles his feet at stems in off-man coverage, and can be caught flat-footed.
- Occasionally resorts to grabbing and tugging at WRs to keep leverage in man coverage.
- Doesn’t provide the blitzing value of other safeties without elite speed and burst.
- Sometimes engages a bit too tall as a tackler and fails to lower his shoulder at contact.
Current Draft Projection and Summary
Nubin is a potential top-32 prospect on my 2024 NFL Draft board and is in the mix to be the top safety prospect in this class. He’s worthy of late Round 1 capital and would be a tremendous value on Day 2.
Nubin is a verified member of the “Good Football Player” club. His athletic profile can be nitpicked a bit. He doesn’t quite have elite burst or fluidity, and his long speed can be a concern at times. But Nubin does pass the desired athletic threshold overall, and his utility profile is superb.
In coverage, Nubin is fluid, physical, adaptable, efficient, variable with his technique, a quick processor, and a ravenous turnover generator. In run support, Nubin is a tenacious downhill attacker with instant angle recognition skills, play strength, and tackling ability.
Nubin’s explosiveness and ball skills, in particular, are traits that naturally contribute to his playmaking ability. But his intelligence, spatial awareness, and lightning-quick reaction speed also give him playmaking range that few safeties can match, regardless of relative athleticism.
Nubin isn’t the most dynamic blitzing threat, nor is he a perfect fit playing the nickel spot. However, Nubin has enough versatility between two-high, single-high, slot, and second-level roving roles, and he can be an impact player as an NFL field safety with his blend of football IQ, coverage mobility, physicality, and ball-hawking instincts.
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