The New York Giants technically have until May 1 to decide what they’re doing with Deonte Banks, but this one stopped being a mystery a while ago.
The NFL’s fifth-year option deadline for 2023 first-round picks is creeping up, but in Deonte Banks’ case, the decision feels made already. The soon-to-be 25-year-old would cost $11.97 million if Joe Schoen and Co. pick up the option, and declining it feels like the only logical outcome. Moving on after the 2026 season -- if not sooner -- feels inevitable.
Shelling out near-$12 million for a cornerback who no longer sees the field feels highly irresponsible. Schoen traded up with the Jacksonville Jaguars to select the former Maryland product 24th overall. He was brought in to lock down opposing WR1s, but three years in, it's frustratingly more questions than answers.
According to Pro Football Focus, among all corners who’ve played 2,000 or more snaps over the last three seasons, Banks owns the worst overall PFF grade at 43.8. And it’s not just the advanced metrics talking. The eye test is just as brutal. He's getting burned on every play, playing with terrible effort, and he still hasn't learned how to turn his head around to make a play on the ball.
It’s pretty clear a change of scenery would benefit both sides, and declining the fifth-year option is the first step toward making that happen.
Giants' Deonte Banks fifth-year option decision feels painfully obvious
There’s something darkly ironic about a player drafted to be Big Blue’s next shutdown corner now looking more suited for kick return duties. But here we unironically are.
The G-Men knew about his struggles, which is why they brought Paulson Adebo in this offseason to be their CB1. Banks had simply been too unreliable. What fans didn’t realize was that a demotion to CB2 wasn’t even the bottom. By training camp, he was fighting for the spot opposite Adebo with fourth-year corner Cor’Dale Flott.
It took then-defensive coordinator Shane Bowen a few weeks to realize Flott was the better option, and by Week 3, Banks was buried on the bench.
This certainly wasn't how it was supposed to go. He even changed his number in the offseason, looking for a reset, but it turns out the whole “look good, feel good, play good” thing only works when you actually play... good.
That fifth-year option was supposed to be automatic for a first-round corner with good size (6-foot-1, 200 pounds) and elite athleticism. Instead, it’s a $11.9 million decision the Giants truly can’t justify. Unless something changes in a big way, this feels like it’s heading toward the obvious outcome.