Heading into the offseason, New York Giants cornerback Deonte Banks' NFL career was hanging by a thread. The Giants once had high hopes for Banks, but he simply had played his way out of their plans. His mechanics were awful, as was his body language, to the point where his desire to play football at the professional level was being questioned.
As 2025 came to a close, Banks was relegated to a reserve at cornerback and was primarily being used as a returner on special teams. This offseason, the Giants had no choice but to decline his fifth-year option, which would have paid him $12.6 million in 2027.
Now, Banks may not be a Giant in 2027, but things have a way of changing. There's a new coaching staff in town, with John Harbaugh as head coach and Dennard Wilson as defensive coordinator.
Harbaugh is giving all players who haven't proved themselves with the club a clean slate. Banks is one of those players. Wilson has a connection to Banks as they both played college ball at the University of Maryland.
So far, the reclamation project is working, but much of that has to do with Banks himself. He has seen his NFL career go from a highly-touted prospect to a possible draft bust, and he's working his tail off to prove that he was worth trading up to get in the 2023 NFL draft.
The Giants have a lot invested in Banks. They took him 24th overall in 2023, but paid a heavy price to move up one spot to secure him. They swapped first-rounders with Jacksonville, moving up from 25 to 24, but sweetened the pot by adding 2023 fifth- and sixth-round picks.
Wilson is Banks' fourth defensive coordinator in four seasons. Wink Martindale turned him loose as a rookie. He was raw, but physical. There was some fire there. He was soon redirected by Shane Bowen and appeared to have lost his way. Charlie Bullen, who took over for Bowen during the final month and a half last season, turned back to Banks late last season due to injuries, but you could see what a mess he had become. He was inconsistent and ineffective as a result.
That's all changed, now. Banks is focused and has learned from his failures. Wilson is giving the former Terp a lot of latitude. It's working.
From Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post:
He was more aggressive playing for defensive coordinator Wink Martindale but regressed under Shane Bowen.
He seems reenergized with his new defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson.
“This is fun,” Banks said. “I’m having a great time with it. I wouldn’t say I’m more confident because I feel I’m always a confident dude. I guess you can see it in my play more.”
The new coaching staff “gave me a reset,’’ he said, and “let me be me.’’
Asked what that means, Banks said, “Let me go out there and play my game. Let me go out there and do what I do best.” This means increased usage as an aggressive press corner in man coverage.
If Banks is a dependable option, a position that lacks a true No. 1 cornerback at least has some depth.
With Paulson Adebo and Greg Newsome II the proposed starters, the bar for Banks to regain starter status isn't very high. His real competition for his comeback tour may be rookie Colton Hood. The cornerback unit is level across the board. We could see a lot of platooning this year with Banks playing a major role.
"I think they're all making it a really good problem for the Giants," Harbaugh said of the corners. "I just feel like all those guys are doing a good job. It seems like we're deep at corner. Certainly planning on that panning out throughout the course of the season, and I'm sure all those guys are going to play a lot of football for us and play very well."
This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: New York Giants' Deonte Banks relishes being able to 'play my game'
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