Who Should I Start? Dane Belton or Montaric Brown

Thursday, July 3, 12:16 PM

New York Giants safety Dane Belton was making plays seemingly every practice this spring and had three interceptions in the five workouts open to the media. ESPN's Jordan Raanan writes that the former fourth-rounder in 2022 will have a role as the third safety this year, even if he's not a starter. It appeared as though Belton was going to be an afterthought after the team signed Jevon Holland earlier this offseason, but that just hasn't been the case. "He has been really good for us here early. Like he's had a really good spring," defensive coordinator Shane Bowen said. "[We're] finding ways to get him on the field, what he can do for us to help us." The 24-year-old defensive back showed some progress in his third year in the league in 2024, finishing with 56 tackles (28 solo), one sack, one interception, six pass breakups, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in 17 games (six starts).

Wednesday, July 2, 6:06 PM

Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Montaric Brown worked with the starters during offseason workouts and consistently made plays during spring practices, including two end-zone pass breakups in red-zone drills in minicamp. ESPN's Michael DiRocco writes that he has the advantage heading into training camp as a starter opposite Tyson Campbell. Second-year corner Jarrian Jones played well at nickel late in his rookie season, but he's still learning the zone scheme, which is expected to be a staple of defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile's scheme. In addition to Jones needing plenty of schooling on the zone scheme, the Jaguars are still working through how many defensive snaps per game they'll be able to get out of rookie first-rounder Travis Hunter. Brown, 25, is also coming off a career year in 2024 in which he had 75 tackles (55 solo), six tackles for loss, an interception and eight pass breakups in 17 games.