Players to Watch: Giants travel to Seattle in Week 5

Micah McFadden put together a solid 2023 campaign in his first season as a full-time starter, as his consistent play led to 101 total tackles. Through the first month of the season, the third-year linebacker has carried that over to 2024. McFadden missed the season opener, and yet heads into Week 5 as the team’s leading tackler with 27 total tackles and 18 solo tackles.

The 24-year-old linebacker has performed well as a pass rusher. After picking up three sacks across his first two seasons, McFadden already has 1.5 sacks in just three games this year. He generated three pressures against both the Commanders and Browns, which has led to his 37.5 quarterback pressure rate being the highest on the team among players with at least 10 rushes. McFadden has also performed well against the run, as his five run stuffs leads the team. According to PFF, the only linebacker that has performed better than McFadden against the run this season has been Washington’s Bobby Wagner.

McFadden and the rest of the Giants’ defense will have their hands full this weekend as they attempt to slow down the two-headed rushing attack of Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet. In his first game back from an abdomen injury that sidelined him for two weeks, Walker carried the ball 12 times against the Lions’ top-ranked run defense and was able to gain 80 yards (6.7 avg.) and score three touchdowns while also catching four passes for 36 yards. Meanwhile, Charbonnet has totaled 271 yards from scrimmage and four touchdowns on the year, including five receptions for 39 yards in Monday’s game against Detroit.

The 23-year-old rookie has registered 21 total tackles on the season, which is tied with Jason Pinnock for the fourth-most on the team. In last week’s game against the Cowboys, Nubin was tied with McFadden for the team-lead in tackles with eight, while he also forced the first fumble of his NFL career.

Perhaps the most impressive part of Nubin’s game has been his reliability. The rookie safety has been on the field for every defensive snap thus far, joining linebacker Bobby Okereke as the only two players to do so. Additionally, Nubin has missed just one tackle this season, according to PFF, and has allowed only four receptions for 38 yards on 150 coverage snaps. Nubin’s strong start led to him being named to Dane Brugler’s early All-Rookie Team.

“He’s been good for us,” Bowen said about the rookie safety. “I think the communication shows up, all the things that we kind of expected out of him, being a leader on the field, taking control, communicating with guys, helping the guy next to him. Again, I would go back to just some of the situational awareness in the league. These young guys, they’re kind of learning by fire right now with some of that stuff, but I’ve been pleased with how he’s played, showing up, tackling.

“He’s played physical for us. Really just continue to learn from mistakes with all those guys, and when you play with young guys, it’s going to happen at times. So just continuing to build, make new mistakes, learn from it, keep growing, keep understanding what the game is at this level.”

Nubin should play a big role in the run defense, as his 15 run tackles on the season are tied for the second-most on the team. But the former Minnesota Golden Gopher will also match up against Seattle’s tight ends in coverage. Seahawks tight end Noah Fant is fifth on the team with 11 receptions for 111 yards, while rookie tight end AJ Barner just caught his first NFL touchdown in Monday’s loss to the Lions.