Deonte Banks
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The Giants could be in the market to trade Deonte Banks this offseason.
It’s safe to say the Deonte Banks experiment has not worked out for the New York Giants, and one team may give them an out for their failed first-round selection.
Alex Ballentine of Bleacher Report suggested the Giants trade Banks to the Green Bay Packers for a sixth-round draft pick in a recent story.
Banks is still only 24 and just three years removed from being picked 24th overall by the Giants. Yet, he has regressed every year in the NFL and had just five passes defended while playing 16 games and netted the 112th overall grade (42.4) out of 114 cornerbacks from Pro-Football Focus in 2025.
The Giants Could Trade Deonte Banks to the Packers
The Packers have seemed about one player away from the Super Bowl for some time now, and for some reason they can’t get their defense straight on the outside.
Green Bay released Jaire Alexander last year, since he was an injury-plagued Pro Bowler. Yet, the duo of Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine could not stop Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears in the playoffs.
So Green Bay’s desperation could pay off for the Giants, who are about to cut ties with Banks after this season since they reportedly will not exercise his fifth-year option.
“They have a real need at cornerback,” Ballestine wrote of Green Bay. “They tried several answers on the outside last season and will need to keep looking.”
The Giants could opt to hang onto Banks and have him audition for a second contract. Yet, the more likely scenario would be for them to offload him to give him a change of scenery, and the Packers — and new defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon — could be just the spot.
“Deonte Banks might be a solution,” Ballestine wrote. “He flashed as a first-round pick in his rookie season in 2023, but has struggled since then. With Jonathan Gannon taking over the[Packers] defense and John Harbaugh taking over in New York, this would be a good time to see if Banks still fits in the Giants’ plans.”
The Giants May Upgrade Their Secondary in the Draft
Though many mock drafts have had the Giants picking a wide receiver or offensive tackle, the current trends indicate a safety could be the pick.
Caleb Downs of Ohio State has been suddenly floated as the No. 5 pick, since Harbaugh referred to him as a “potential Hall of Fame safety” ahead of the upcoming NFL Combine in Indianapolis.
The Giants are likely to replace Banks, if they can trade him, with internal candidates like Paulson Adebo. But with Cor’Dale Flott also likely to depart in free agency, the Giants will need to sign — or draft — a cornerback, potentially in the second round.
ESPN’s Matt Miller has them doing just that by taking D’Angelo Ponds, who played cornerback for reigning national champion Indiana.
“As far as I’m concerned, Ponds is one of the best pure football players in this class,” Miller wrote. “He’s the best nickelback available and was a consistent playmaker for the Hoosiers, with seven career interceptions.”