It's easy to tell comeback stories in the offseason. Before the bright lights come on, any player can be on a trajectory for a career-altering bounce back. But there's nowhere to hide once the games start.
New York Giants cornerback Deonte Banks has seen a career resurgence under John Harbaugh this offseason. After a few disappointing years, the former first-round pick seems to have rediscovered his confidence. He even cracked the starting lineup in Harbaugh's unofficial week 1 depth chart.
If Banks isn't at his best against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night, Harbaugh's trust in him will quickly start to look foolish.
Giants CB Deonte Banks faces a near-impossible task against Cowboys
Banks didn't come into training camp with a starting job. He earned it, drawing attention from his coaching staff.
Defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson noticed the cornerback's effort early in the offseason. He told Steve Serby of the New York Post, "I think he had a helluva offseason. [Banks] has been one of those guys that's kind of been running to coaching. He's not running away from it."
That drive eventually pushed him ahead of Paulson Adebo, who is entering the second season of the three-year, $54 million deal he signed in free agency last offseason. Benching a player on that kind of contract, especially in favor of a player who has been disappointing early in his career, is a bold statement from Harbaugh.
Unfortunately for Banks, he doesn't get to ease into the regular season. The Cowboys have one of the NFL's most dangerous wide receiver duos with CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens. Their offense is built around those two pass-catchers, and Dak Prescott is willing to push the ball down the field to give his receivers chances to make plays.
Banks will be tested throughout the game. He'll likely be left with plenty of one-on-one matchups against Pickens, who primarily plays on the outside for Dallas. Wilson will do what he can to help the young cornerback, but he can only offer so many double-teams against an offense with two top targets.
If he can hold his own against Dallas, limiting big plays and coming up with a couple of pass deflections, Banks will immediately confirm Harbaugh's decision to put faith in him. But it's not hard to see the opposite scenario play out. New York's issues in the secondary could be exposed against the Cowboys.
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