How the NY Giants Can Unlock the Best from CB Deonte Banks

The Circumstance

Banks spent his first year in the NFL under the guidance of defensive coordinator Wink Martindale.

Martindale was known for his hyper-aggressive defensive system that involved heavy blitzing up front and press-man coverage in the secondary.

With that mindset, Banks seemed like he was in the perfect system for his skillset to thrive in–a boom-or-bust style that relied on the pass-rush hitting home early and athletic defenders to be able to play tight coverage until then.

The PFF grade can say what it wants, and that will skew opinions of Banks, but when watching the film of him as a rookie, Banks showed why he deserved to be a first-round pick.

A task that few cornerbacks are willing to take on week in and week out to play press-man, oftentimes with no safety help over the top.

In Year 2, he was under new defensive coordinator Shane Bowen, who brought his zone-dependent defense to the Giants.

Banks played a variety of coverages at Maryland, so it shouldn’t have been too difficult for him to make the adjustment. However, when the pads went on and the ball kicked off, the struggles were evident.

After becoming the unquestioned CB1 for the Giants to start 2024, Banks’ play fell dramatically.

It’s possible that some of that was due to the scheme, but even on film, Banks just wasn’t the same player he was as a rookie. The confidence didn’t seem like it was the same as he faced more opposing top receivers, and his effort lacked sorely at times.

Unlocking Banks

This might seem counterintuitive, but one of the most important things that the coaching staff can do for Banks is to help him get his confidence back.

In the preseason, the coaching staff should emphasize playing press-man coverage that allows Banks to get physical early on and take receivers out of the play, especially knowing he’s got an elite pass-rush in front of him.

As for effort, the only person who can help Banks there is himself.

This season, with the addition of Paulson Adebo from the New Orleans Saints, the Giants can have their cornerbacks play sides, and no matter who lines up on that side, it is who the cornerbacks guard, though to this point, Adebo has played most of his career snaps on one side, making it interesting to see if the Giants stick with that or have Adebo travel with the opponent’s best cornerback.

Actually, not having to face a team's WR1 every week should help Banks build the confidence that he carried himself with previously.

With Adebo as the starting corner opposite Banks, the Giants are more scheme-fluid than they were in 2024, so they should be able to play a wider variety of coverages now.

Practice should emphasize making a play on the ball more as well, as that’s been one of the biggest issues of Banks’ entire career, and that might just be who he is, but there needs to be an emphasis on trying to improve that.

Even if it means keeping Banks in more situations where the ball is in front of him so that he’s not expected to turn to make a play as much, adding at least respectable ball skills will improve his game significantly.

When Banks is the cornerback to the boundary, if the opposing offense is on the hash, then he should be trusted to blitz occasionally and use his elite speed and burst to impact quarterbacks.

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