Rookies Tyler Nubin, Dru Phillips arent backing down from any Giants challenge

A tired Saquon Barkley had just finished trash-talking Giants safety Tyler Nubin when he slid onto the Eagles bench and turned to a teammate. “I love No.31,” Barkley said, referencing Nubin in a sideline conversation that was captured on a mic’d up video.

“He’s going to be a good safety.He’s a rookie — him and No.

22 [Dru Phillips].They’re going to be solid, bro.” General manager Joe Schoen and Barkley never saw eye-to-eye on contract terms — that’s how the Giants’ best playmaker and four-time cocaptain wound up signing with the Eagles after six years on the other side of a rivalry — but Barkley put his stamp of approval on two players Schoen drafted about six weeks losing his franchise’s biggest star in free agency. In what looks like another lost season for the Giants, the development of the second-round pick Nubin and the third-round pick Phillips is one of a few things that could keep fans engaged.

The Giants might have in place 40 percent of their starting secondary through 2027. “It’s really a cool thing to hear from a guy like [Barkley], coming through this organization where you hear so much about him,” Phillips told The Post.“After the game, we talked and I was like, ‘I got respect from Saquon.

I must be doing something right.’ As a rookie, I go out, do my work and try to earn respect.” Barkley ran for 176 yards against the Giants, but his one touchdown could’ve been three if the Eagles didn’t turn to their near-automatic quarterback sneak for two 1-yard scores.When Barkley was celebrating a successful Tush Push, Nubin reminded Barkley that the Eagles didn’t give the ball to him — to which Barkley replied that Nubin was “just a rookie” and had just missed an open-field tackle. Add in some foul language where expected. “Saquon is definitely a guy I respect, and I’ve been watching since I was coming out of high school,” Nubin told The Post.

“I was thinking, ‘Dang, I have to tackle him...