Jason Pinnock hits like he has been playing safety for a lot longer than 14 months.
Pinnock collected five tackles, two pass breakups, a quarterback hit, a forced fumble and an unmeasured amount of pain inflicted Sunday against the Commanders, when he flew around the field looking to deliver a pop.
“It’s always been fast for me,” Pinnock said. “Being a defensive back, you have to bring speed and know angles. Speed is going to overpower the power.”
Pinnock played cornerback at Pittsburgh and was drafted by the Jets in 2021 to do the same. He changed positions midway through his rookie season — fitting the profile because of his 205-pound frame and willingness to set a physical edge in run defense — and was graded as the No. 4 safeties in the NFL over that season’s final three games. The promising audition wasn’t enough to keep the Jets from cutting him in August, which hit like a sledgehammer before the Giants made a waiver claim.
“It was literally like that Jamal Adams [key card] video: This s–t just stopped working!” Pinnock said, referring to a clip in which the former Jets star is locked out of the team facility and jokes that Year 2 is too soon to be cut. “This league will humble you. Every guy plays with a little chip on his shoulder, but [proving the Jets wrong] is not at the forefront of my mind. Whatever city it is, I want to show people I can play football and can be a top safety in this league when I get my feet settled.”
Xavier McKinney’s bye-week accident created an absence in the secondary that Pinnock filled for coordinator Wink Martindale. After playing one total defensive snap in the first eight games, he had 1.5 sacks in a sub-package role behind rookie Dane Belton against the Texans. He took over for Belton as McKinney’s fill-in starter four games ago and will likely start again Saturday against the Vikings.
“You can’t replace really good players,” head coach Brian Daboll said, “but I think Pinnock has done an excellent job of fitting into our defense. The defensive coaches have used him the right way, whether it’s in the deep part of the field, down in the box or blitzing. He’s so explosive. He’s got strength, power and good speed. He can bring it.”
Pinnock showed up big on third down in last week’s win, forcing a punt with a pass breakup and later a 51-yard field goal by drilling quarterback Taylor Heinicke in the back on a blitz. He was one step away from possibly his own Kayvon Thibodeaux-like moment — a strip-sack and recovery.
“That was the first play I flipped to film on the train,” Pinnock said. “He got me by about 0.25 [seconds]. I’ve always known my angles in blitzing, but I never really got the opportunity. It’s been a blessing in disguise bumping into a defensive coordinator that allows me to show that.”
It wasn’t a perfect game. He allowed a 61-yard completion, although his coverage was tight.
“I probably could’ve flipped [my hips] faster and gave myself more time to track the ball in the bright lights of a night game,” Pinnock said. “But no excuses. Good ball, good catch.”
Just like Pinnock has been a good catch for the Giants.
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