This New York Giants player is actually one of the NFL's most improved players.

Heading into the 2025 NFL campaign, the New York Giants' defense was viewed as a potential strength thanks to a fierce pass rush that included Dexter Lawrence, Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux and rookie Abdul Carter.

While the unit got off to a rough start the first few weeks, the defense has suddenly showed some serious signs of life and just held the Philadelphia Eagles to 17 points on Thursday night.

Yes, Burns has been stealing the show, having racked up seven sacks through six games, but the Giants have also been getting some big plays from players most casual fans have never even heard of.

For now, we will focus on defensive back Dane Belton, who forced a pivotal fumble in the fourth quarter against the Eagles that essentially salted the game away. He managed seven tackles on the evening overall and has logged 26 tackles on the year.

Belton is definitely not a household name. He isn't even a starter, playing in only 33 percent of New York's defensive snaps this season. But perhaps increased playing time is deserved.

The 24-year-old has managed a 72.9 coverage grade at Pro Football Focus thus far in 2025, which ranks 20th out of 134 qualifying safeties. Consider that Belton posted a 40.0 grade in that area during his rookie campaign back in 2022, and you'll see just how much the University of Iowa product has improved.

Each year, Belton's coverage grade — and overall grade — has seen an uptick. Now, he has reached a point where he can legitimately be tabbed as one of the league's most improved players.

Belton is playing behind both Jevon Holland and Tyler Nubin in Big Blue's secondary, but it might only be a matter of time before he carves out a much more significant role. At least in terms of snap counts, and especially with both Holland and Nubin struggling in coverage.

Thursday night may have been the first time that Belton gained any national attention thanks to the forced fumble, but he is definitely someone everyone should be monitoring moving forward.

The Giants currently rank 26th in the NFL in yards allowed and 20th in scoring defense, but I expect those numbers to look quite a bit better before the end of the year now that the unit appears to be finding its groove.

Belton is slated to hit free agency at year's end, and at this rate, he could end up being a rather critical piece for New York to retain.