Giants Now: CBS Sports selects Jason Pinnock as Giants’ breakout candidate

CBS Sports selects Jason Pinnock as Giants’ breakout candidate

CBS Sports’ Jared Dubin recently selected a breakout player for every team across the league, in which safety Jason Pinnock was the choice for the Giants.

“Pinnock is now the old veteran in a secondary that has seen fellow safeties like Julian Love and Xavier McKinney exit over the past couple of offseasons,” wrote Dubin. “With the benefit of their experience, along with his athleticism and instincts, he should be able to take a step forward in his second year as a starter.”

The 25-year-old has made a big impact since being claimed off waivers prior to the start of the 2022 campaign.

In 14 games (five starts) in his first year with the Giants, Pinnock registered 41 tackles (34 solo), 1.5 sacks, four quarterback hits, three passes defensed, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.

Pinnock took a big step in 2023 as he started the first 16 games before a toe injury forced him to miss the season finale. The 6-foot, 200-pound safety set new career-highs in just about every statistic, finishing the year with 85 tackles (59 solo), two sacks, six tackles for loss, six passes defensed and two forced fumbles.

He also recorded the first two interceptions of his NFL career, the first of which he returned 102 yards for his first career touchdown. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it was the longest return by a player on his first career interception in the Super Bowl era.

Pinnock’s 102-yard return tied Erich Barnes for the longest interception return in Giants history.

“Keep showing who Jason Pinnock is,” the safety recently said about his goals this season. “Getting better. You just said it for me. I switched positions in another country my rookie year, played corner my whole life. So, the game’s extremely slow. Every practice I have, every snap, it’s just slowing down for me. And I get to show my athletic ability where I know I separate from a lot of guys for what we do.”

Pinnock has been one of the stars of training camp, as he finds himself among the team’s leaders in interceptions this summer.

Following yesterday’s release of Jalen Mills, the 25-year-old is now the veteran of the Giants’ safety group (Dane Belton and Tyler Nubin are both 23 while Gervarrius Owens is 24).

“For one, I take it very personal,” Pinnock said about being one of the leaders in the DB room. “And I said almost every time I can speak in front of people, I’m grateful. I’m grateful for the position that I was granted, earned, and just the respect I got from the building to be able to have the faith and trust in me to lead these young guys. That’s the biggest thing. But I’m just grateful for it.”