The smile on the face of Darian Thompson was not a byproduct of anything he did in his first game in 11 months. The second-year safety was impressed, but not amazed, by the short, sweet work of his backfield partner, Landon Collins.

“He’s a different type of guy,’’ Thompson said, shaking his head. “Works extremely hard, kind of seems like he played a game last week. He didn’t miss a beat. That’s a guy he has been and a guy I believe he’ll continue to be.’’

As the Giants incorporate some new pieces into what can be a vice-grip defense, Collins’ ascension can sometimes be, if not overlooked, perhaps underappreciated. At this time last year, he was coming off a promising rookie season that offered few hints of the emergence that was about to hit the NFL. No defensive player had a better 2016 than Collins, who is not a heavy self-promoter, exuding confidence without thrusting himself into the limelight.

With Collins leading the charge Friday night, the Giants put on display some of what this latest edition of their defense can become in a preseason-opening 20-12 loss to the Steelers, completely stifling a facsimile Pittsburgh offense devoid of Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell.

Jay Bromley, vying for the starting right defensive tackle spot opened when Johnathan Hankins signed with the Colts, looks ready to deliver, and rookie Dalvin Tomlinson, the second-round pick from Alabama, is right there, challenging Bromley every step of the way. Second-year B.J. Goodson had a seamless debut as the starting middle linebacker. Thompson, in his first game since foot surgery, moved fluidly and once again offered a glimpse of the sort of safety tandem the Giants believe they have, ready to unleash on the rest of the league.

Nothing definitive can be gleaned from a defensive outing without Jason Pierre-Paul, who was held out, and only cameo appearances from Janoris Jenkins and Olivier Vernon (six snaps apiece) and Damon “Snacks” Harrison (five snaps). Collins, though, came to play. He made tackles on the first two plays and came away with five stops in his 10 snaps, including four solo and one for a loss.

“He likes to play football, he’s always around the ball, he has a nose for the ball, and he’s a hammer when he gets there,’’ coach Ben McAdoo said.

“Anytime I touch the field, I try and do what I can with any amount of plays that I have,” Collins said. “That’s just me.’’

The Collins-Thompson pairing lasted only two games last season before Thompson hurt his foot and ended up on injured reserve. He said he did not think about the foot at any time during his return and that it feels fine. As the free safety, the Giants view Thompson as a ball-hawk who can patrol sideline-to-sideline.

“I want to be a guy that obviously can control back there, bark out signals,’’ said Thompson, a 2016 third-round pick from Boise State. “I want everybody to be confident that the middle of the field is going to be closed.’’

This game, he said, was “not necessarily a new start’’ but it was significant.

“I’m a little bit rusty, just like a lot of guys, still areas of my game I can improve and that’s what I’m gonna work on doing,’’ Thompson said.

“We count on him, it’s really another rookie year for him,’’ McAdoo said.

What Thompson and Collins both mentioned as especially satisfying: There were no mental errors between them.

“We kinda pride ourselves on getting the calls 100 percent,’’ Thompson said. “We’re gonna contine to work together, try to build this bond and see what happens.’’

Goodson played more snaps (25) at linebacker in this game than he did his entire rookie year (14). He was aggressive hunting for the ball and made a splash play when he diagnosed a pre-snap read by Josh Dobbs and dropped the rookie quarterback for an eight-yard loss.

“Definitely,’’ Goodson said, when asked if this represents a new chapter for him.

“But you know, I’ve always been preparing for this moment,’’ he said. “It’s definitely a personal great start. I wish we could have come away with the ‘W’ because as a leader of the defense it’s what you always want to come away with.’’