The Giants spent the 24th pick of the 2023 draft on Deonte Banks. Three years later, his clearest path to the 53-man roster runs through the return game, not the cornerback depth chart.
New York declined his fifth-year option on May 1, walking away from a $12.63 million number for 2027 and turning 2026 into the final year of his rookie deal. John Harbaugh’s clean-slate reset hands Banks one more audition. The tape says he needs every rep of it.
The 2025 film was among the league’s worst
Banks finished 2025 with a 42.4 overall PFF grade, ranking 112th among 114 qualified cornerbacks, and a coverage grade of 45.0 that landed 110th at the position, according to PFF.
Deonte Banks, Courtland Sutton, NFL: New York Giants at Denver Broncos
Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
Quarterbacks posted a 149.7 passer rating when they targeted him; he allowed 26 receptions, and he did not record a single interception across the season. For a former first-round corner with prototype size and testing numbers, that is the profile of a player losing his grip on a starting job.
Man coverage is where it breaks
Deonte Banks, NFL: New York Giants at Philadelphia Eagles
Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
Banks posted a 30.6 PFF grade in man coverage in 2024, surrendering a 149.3 passer rating and four touchdowns, per PFF, down from the 40.7 man-coverage mark he logged as a rookie. The Giants drafted him to travel with No. 1 receivers and play press on an island. Instead, the one assignment that justified the pick has become the one that exposes him.
Season Man-coverage PFF grade Completion % allowed Passer rating allowed TDs allowed
2023 40.7 62.5% 110.9 3
2024 30.6 66.7% 149.3 4
The roster math has moved past him
deonte banks, NFL: Green Bay Packers at New York Giants
Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
Paulson Adebo and Greg Newsome II arrived in free agency to lock down the outside, Dru Phillips out-graded the entire room on a $1.6 million cap number, and rookie Colton Hood is already pushing for snaps. That stack leaves Banks fighting as a CB4 or CB5 while carrying a $4.32 million cap hit. The one thing keeping him employed has nothing to do with coverage: he averaged 32.7 yards per kick return last season and drew second-team All-Pro consideration as a returner.
What is left to prove
Banks still owns the traits that made him a first-round pick, and a scheme that leans on his zone comfort could salvage something. The Giants no longer need him to be a lockdown corner. They need him to be worth a roster spot, and right now the return duties are carrying the résumé. The first-round label is gone. Banks is playing to keep a job at all.
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Anthony Rivardo is the COO of Empire Sports Media and the host of Fireside Giants, a New York Giants ... More about Anthony Rivardo