New York Giants 2024 Training Camp Preview: S Dane Belton
The first two years of Dane Belton’s NFL career haven’t been the most inspiring. He’s struggled to get on the field with any sort of consistency, and when he has been on the field, he’s left a lot to be desired.
Belton made his case for an NFL career at Iowa by playing a hybrid linebacker/safety position called “cash.” That cash spot allowed Belton to spend a lot of time playing as an underneath defender in zone coverage.
The likely selling point for the Giants to draft Belton was that former defensive coordinator Wink Martindale loved to call Cover 1 with an underneath zone defender, in which bringing in someone familiar operating in that role should thrive. With Martindale gone and Shane Bowen in, Belton has the opportunity to play in a defensive system that’s stylistically similar to what he played in Iowa.
Dane Belton, S
Height: 6-1
Weight: 190
EXP: 3 Years
School: Iowa
How Acquired: D4-22
2023 in Review
Belton’s second season in the NFL saw him improve overall, but he struggled mightily in run support. Through his 295 snaps played, Belton had 27 total tackles but missed eight tackles to finish with a missed tackle percentage of 22.9 percent, the worst amongst back-seven qualifiers.
In coverage, Belton looked much more comfortable in 2023 than he did as a rookie in 2022. When he was targeted, quarterbacks often found success against Belton, but his improvement in coverage kept quarterbacks from targeting him frequently.
When Belton was thrust into significant playing time during the season's final three weeks, he was playing the best ball of his career to date. During those final three weeks, Belton picked up two pressures, a sack, two run stuffs (a tackle for a gain of three yards or less), and two interceptions while allowing just two catches for 12 yards.
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Contract/Cap Info
Belton has two years remaining on his rookie contract after signing a base four-year deal worth $4,444,492, with $784,492 guaranteed at signing. The guarantee, worth $196,123 per year, is spread evenly throughout the contract.
That guarantee means that if the Giants were to cut Belton this offseason, they would eat a dead cap hit of $392,246 while saving $788,877. Since Belton is the 105th-ranked safety salary-wise, there’s a reasonable expectation that he should perform at the level of a team’s third or fourth safety.
He was the third most-used safety on the roster last season defensively for the Giants, while also seeing the third most snaps on special teams. Saving just $788,877 wouldn’t justify dropping someone who is a financial bargain, plays consistent snaps defensively, and is a key special teamer.
2024 Preview
It’s not uncommon to see a defensive back take their next step developmentally heading into their third season. The learning curve from college to the NFL requires them to not just learn more coverages with new coverage keys. Still, they’re also playing against much more complex offenses in the NFL that have better pass-catchers and far superior quarterback play.
With Bowen now the Giant's defensive coordinator, Belton has an opportunity to make a significant leap in a defense better suited to his skillset than the previous one. That’s not to say that any one defensive scheme is better than the other, but Belton found a lot of success in college playing in underneath zones or over the top in quarters coverage.
Martindale’s defense allowed Belton to play that underneath zone, but Belton was a bit of an odd man out when the Giants weren’t playing Cover 1 robber. As a cover man, Belton should rarely be left as the single-high safety or in man coverage, but that was a reality for him far too often.
Bowen’s defense will likely put Belton in three positions most frequently: underneath defender over the middle, underneath defender the flat, and overtop defender in quarters coverage. Regarding scheme fit, Bowen’s is a much better match for Belton than Martindale’s.
In the safety room, the Giants spent a second-round pick on Tyler Nubin from Minnesota, but it’s realistic to expect some early struggles from Nubin. Nubin had an elite IQ for a draft pick, but he’s still a rookie in the NFL, and the expectation should always be for there to be a learning curve.
With Xavier McKinney gone to the Green Bay Packers, there’s an open door for Belton to find himself in a major rotational role or even potentially as a starter.
The Titans under Bowen ran defenses with five or more defensive backs on the field on 86.89 percent of their snaps, leaving the door open for more defensive back snaps in general compared to the Giants using five or more defensive backs on 72.73 percent of snaps under Martindale last year.
BRANDON OLSEN
Brandon Olsen is the founder of Whole Nine Sports, specializing in NFL Draft coverage, and is the host of the Locked On Gators Podcast.