Tyler Nubin scouting report: Exploring the Minnesota safety's strengths and weaknesses

A four-star recruit in 2019, Tyler Nubin appeared sparingly in 12 games as a true freshman, recording six tackles and two pass break-ups. After playing more regularly in year two, recording 41 stops along with his first interception and fumble forced, he became a starter in 2021.

Over the following two seasons, Tyler Nubin combined for 105 tackles, seven INTs and five PBUs. As a redshirt senior, he picked off five passes and broke up another four, while putting up almost identical tackling numbers, which earned him first-team All-Big Ten and second-team All-American recognition.

Profile: 6-foot-1, 205 pounds; RS SR.

Breaking down Tyler Nubin's scouting report

Run defense & blitzing:

• Well-proportioned frame with broad jump and a physical play style to match
• Urgently approaches the line of scrimmage from two-high alignments and creates plenty of stops for little yardage in the run game
• Tracks the ball and adjusts his angles on the fly tremendously well from center-field alignments
• Makes sure the ball-carrier needs to actively go around or through him as the last line of defenseWhen he’s lined up in the box and becomes responsible for a gap, he’s quick to fill and drop the shoulder on a tight-end/H-back wrapping around
• Is aware of offenses creating a +1 in blocking count and when he needs to be more aggressive with involving himself in the fit
• Aggressively squeezes down space when on the front in goal-line situations but can also chase plays down the line if unaccounted for
• Was brought on some blitzes through the interior from depth, with the aggressively mindset to run through RBs in protection

Zone coverage:

• Jumped out to me quite a bit when I watched his running mate at safety in Jordan Howden for the 2023 draft, with the way his presence on the back-end was felt
• Follows the quarterbacks eyes and trusts what he sees in order to take him to the football, aggressively breakung on the football and looking to disrupt the catch-point
• The ability to close the gap to threats down the seams in cover-two or wipe out receivers at the sideline on vertical routes from those alignments to negate the potential for big plays through the air stood out on several occasions to save the Gophers
• Drives upfield and creates a bunch of key stops in the open field without hesitation, yet he’ll slow his feet when guys are trying to put a move on him and you see so many tackles where he’s just able to get guys to the ground thanks to those long arms
• Does not look uncomfortable when he has to flip and run with the backside X receiver on post routes in quarters
• Showcases excellent hand-eye coordination when the ball goes past or over the intended target and he suddenly has a chance to come down with it himself
• Came up with two excellent interceptions in the 2023 season-opener against Nebraska, where on the latter one he undercut a bang-eight route from a single-high alignment, to set up his team for the game-winning field goal

Man coverage:

• Spent a career-high 84 snaps in the slot last season and opposing quarterbacks actively avoided him, intercepting the only two targets in man-coverage
• Put up several impressive isolated reps on tape against tight-ends flexed out or working from in-line, where he’s 8-10 yards off and has to stay patient
• Ready to bring the fight as guys aim right at him, with enough force in his hands to dictate reps
• Has the mental reactionary quickness and sudden burst to stick with tight-ends working across the formation on mesh concepts and not get hung up in traffic
• His confidence will be key if used extensively as a matchup player, to not get down on himself for one lost rep
• On 20 targets in 2022, Nubin allowed just seven completions for 158 yards and one touchdown, while intercepting and breaking up four passes each, for a passer rating of just 41.3
• Earned the highest PFF coverage grade for any safety in the FBS last season (90.1), only allowing six of 20 targets with him as the closest defender to be completed for 90 yards and two TDs compared to his five picks

Weaknesses:

• Lacks the make-up burst where if he’s out of phase in isolated situations, to re-enter the picture
• Doesn’t reduce his height in his back-pedal and there can be a slight delay coming out of it in the process, without top-tier click-and-close ability
• Very unproven in man-coverage, with just 163 such snaps and 12 total targets across his five years with the Gophers, according to PFF
• On late rotations caused by motion, his angles can be too steep rather than diagonal, which can allow speedy ball-carriers who get touches with a head-start to get to the sideline
• While he was an effective tackler in college, NFL athletes may be able to slip off more of his loose wraps, where he’s only just able to trip guys up with how aggressively he attacks upfield initially

Tyler Nubin's 2024 NFL Draft prospect

I came out of last summer with Tyler Nubin as my top-ranked safety and while Minnesota didn’t have a great year overall, that gap between him and the rest of the group has only widened. His instincts, the ability to attack the ball in the air, separate targets from it when closing in on routes and how he squares up runners are all tops of the class.

Now, we don’t have that final piece of the puzzle, since we didn’t get any timed speed on him at the combine or his pro day and that’ll be the key question when considered how early he may come off the board. I don’t think he would’ve necessarily helped himself if he did run a 40 coming off the meniscus surgery he had after the season.

However, because of the way Tyler Nubin sees the game, that anticipation expands his range as one of the top play-makers at the position. It’s tough to speak on his man-coverage skills because he was asked to do it so infrequently and his redirections could’ve been more dynamic, but if you want him to match tight-ends from off-alignments, I didn’t see any issues with that on tape.

To maximize his play however, I want him to play top-down and let his eyes carry him to the football. If someone took him in the late first round, I’d be totally fine with it, although I think top of the second seems more realistic.

Grade: Early second round