Tyler Nubin, S Minnesota: 2024 NFL Draft Profile

Nubin was a three-star recruit from Saint Charles North High School in Saint Charles, Ill. in the class of 2019

Minnesota Golden Gophers safety Tyler Nubin is chasing a top 100 selection in the 2024 NFL Draft. The All-Big Ten defender is one of the best run-stoppers at his position in college football, but his work in coverage can improve.

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Tyler Nubin, S Minnesota: 2024 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Fifth-year senior safety from Saint Charles, Ill.

Background: Nubin was a three-star recruit from Saint Charles North High School in Saint Charles, Ill. in the class of 2019. He was the No. 379 recruit (four-star) according to 247Sports and No. 441 (three-star) for On3.com. Nubin was an unranked four-star recruit for Rivals and an unranked three-star recruit for ESPN with a 77 grade out of 100. As a high school senior, he amassed 51 tackles, including five for loss, and six passes defensed. Nubin also played wide receiver, catching 42 passes for 549 yards and nine touchdowns in his final high school season. He also ran for 600 yards and 12 touchdowns on 109 carries as a quarterback. Nubin was the 2018 Courier-News Football Player of the Year. As a junior, he totaled 26 tackles, ten passes defensed, two interceptions, and a forced fumble. The previous year, he recorded 18 tackles, two passes defensed, and three interceptions. Nubin was a three-time Academic All-Conference selection and earned All-State honors in 2018. He attended the 2018 U.S. Army All-American Combine. Nubin’s brother, Jordan, is a running back for the Golden Gophers, and his father, Rodney, played football at Eastern Michigan.

Injuries & Off-Field: Missed one game in 2019, missed two games in 2022 with a broken right hand

Awards: 2020-22 Academic All-Big Ten, 2021 Honorable Mention All-Big Ten, 2021 Guaranteed Rate Bowl Defensive MVP, 2022 Second Team All-Big Ten

Pros: Special teams ace with experience on the kick return, kick coverage, punt return, punt coverage, and field goal block units, a dozen total career special teams tackles, rarely penalized, appears to have ideal size, arm length, and density for a safety, two years of ball production, low backpedal, gets physical mid-route, closes quickly on short routes, reads the quarterback’s eyes to undercut routes, confident downhill run defender, high-level run defense instincts, excellent run fits from two-high or low safety alignments, willing to meet running backs in the hole or knife into the backfield, plenty of flashes of coming to balance as a tackler or approaching tackle attempts with poise, willing to blast pulling blockers on his way to the football, he was the Chase Brown stopper vs. Illinois (2022)

Cons: Lacks sideline to sideline range, speed doesn’t stand out, not a twitchy or super agile defender, delayed ability to halt momentum and redirect quickly, not well suited for man coverage duties, transitions are high and inefficient, allows separation on sharp routes, stack and shed technique needs refinement, tackling technique is very inconsistent, throws shoulder tackles instead of wrapping up, misses unnecessary diving tackle attempts, wish he drove through the ball carrier on tackles more often, takes steep pursuit angles downhill, overruns pursuit angles, drops head into contact

Overview: Nubin surprised some fans and analysts by returning for his fifth season after a career year in 2022. He is a special teams ace with a dozen career special teams tackles and experience split between the kick return, kick coverage, punt return, punt coverage, and field goal block units. Nubin has ideal size, arm length, and density. His build stands out as one of the best for a safety in the 2024 class. The fifth-year senior has two seasons of quality ball production and is rarely penalized. He is at his best with the play unfolding in front of him. Nubin quickly closes on short routes to limit yards after the catch. He also reads the quarterback’s eyes to undercut routes for interceptions. However, Nubin isn’t a twitchy or super agile defender and lacks the top speed to carry pass catchers vertically consistently. Nubin’s transitions are high and inefficient, leading to him allowing separation on sharp routes. He isn’t an ideal fit for man coverage assignments. The former three-star recruit struggles to halt his momentum and redirect quickly. Fortunately, these change of direction issues seem to stem from his footwork and not his hips. NFL teams will be able to correct these issues. Nubin lacks sideline to sideline range, which means he’s also not a fit for single-high assignments. The Illinois native is a confident downhill run defender with high-level run defense instincts. He fits the run well from two-high or low safety alignments and is willing to knife into the backfield or meet running backs in the hole. Nubin still needs to perfect his stack and shed technique, but his downhill physicality and willingness to blast blockers usually create separation. Nubin’s run defense was on full display against Illinois (2022) when it looked like he was the only Golden Gopher capable of stopping Chase Brown. There are plenty of instances of Nubin coming to balance and approaching tackles with poise, but his tackling technique is very inconsistent. He throws shoulders instead of wrapping up or attempts unnecessary diving tackles. Nubin occasionally overruns pursuit angles and lacks the agility to recover from those missteps.

Overall, Nubin has a powerful build, two seasons of quality ball production, and the instincts to be one of the best run-stopping defensive backs in the class. His ceiling in the draft will be determined by how teams evaluate his coverage profile. He might not be versatile enough to warrant a first or second round selection.

Role & Scheme Fit: Safety in two-high looks with box walk down opportunities  

Round Projection: Third Round

Size: 6'2", 210 lbs. (Unofficial)

Submitted: 05-06-23