Big Blue View
Will the former Hawkeye be a ballhawk in 2025?
The New York Giants have sunk a lot of resources into their defense over the last three years.
And finally in 2025 they have a secondary that is young, athletic, and potentially very deep. It isn’t proven yet, but the Giants’ secondary could be an absolute terror to rival the best in the NFL if some young players take the next step. The flip side is that their depth and number of talented players on their defense could make it difficult for some under-the-radar defender to prove their worth.
Safety Dane Belton has been on the periphery of the Giants’ defense since being drafted in 2022. Over the last three years he’s played in 49 games with 13 starts, though he’s never played more than 42% of the possible defensive snaps.
However, Belton has a knack for producing big plays and generating turnovers when he’s on the field. He has five interceptions over the last three years and always seems to be around the ball. He was lauded for his natural ballhawking skills at Iowa, and has proven to be instinctive in the NFL.
So far, Belton has had at least three interceptions in the Giants’ OTAs.
All reports seem to indicate that Belton has been extremely active in practice and that he’s making quarterbacks pay for mistakes. Could he be primed for a breakout season and lead the Giants into a Golden Age of Piracy?
When the Giants made Belton the 114th overall selection in the 2022 NFL Draft, they likely targeted him due to his blitzing acumen. Belton was a tremendous reach according to the Consensus Big Board, which ranked him 198th overall, but he had a skill set that made sense in Wink Martindale’s defense. Most notably, he was experienced in lining up at multiple positions in Iowa’s defense and he was used as a blitzer at the eighth-highest rate in his draft class.
Since then, Belton’s versatility and playmaking ability have been his calling cards.
Belton played 459 defensive snaps in 2024, the most of his career. And while he was listed as a “strong safety” on the overwhelming majority of those snaps, he actually played all over the Giants’ secondary. Belton was asked to line up as a slot defender, box safety, free safety, and even as a “STAR” safety/linebacker hybrid.
He’s an active communicator and able to execute from each of those alignments, giving him the versatility to help the defense effectively disguise coverages. Belton is at his best playing in off or zone coverage, where his instincts, processing, and athleticism allow him to make plays.
Belton has a quick downhill trigger, the size to be a factor at the point of attack, and the speed to arrive in a hurry.
Belton starts the play as a deep safety, and from there he’s able to read the play accurately, come down, and position himself well to defend the run....
