Giants main summer surprise appears to lose starting spot for the long haul

It almost seemed like it was too good to be true. Over the summer, one of the main storylines for the NY Giants was the emergence of sixth-round pick Tre Hawkins. Out of Old Dominion, Hawkins was a beast turning training camp, turning heads of everyone, including head man Brian Daboll.

Hawkins was so great, he earned a starting job on the outside opposite of first-round pick Deonte Banks, with the Giants moving veteran CB Adoree' Jackson to the slot. However, during the first three weeks of the season, Hawkins struggled immensely.

So much in fact, the first-year defensive back was benched for the Week 4 contest against the Seahawks, a game Big Blue lost 24-3. Hawkins didn't pay a single snap in that contest. Moving forward, The Athletic's Dan Duggan doesn't expect him to be a difference-maker in Miami either.

Tre Hawkins losing his starting spot so early in the season is disappointing

"Giants coaches said their cornerback deployment is matchup-based, but it would be a surprise if rookie Tre Hawkins is back in the mix after not playing a single defensive snap against Seattle. A sixth-round rookie, Hawkins’ emergence during training camp was a pleasant surprise. But he struggled while playing 72 percent of the snaps in the first three games."

- Dan Duggan

With Hawkins on the bench, former third-round pick Cor'Dale Flott has moved in as the starter in the slot and Jackson is back on the outside. Banks remains on the outside too and while he has been strong at times during his rookie season, we have also seen some inconsistent play.

The defense as a whole has been a bit of a letdown for Wink Martindale, with tackling being a big-time problem. Hawkins simply wasn't cutting it early on this season, leading to him losing his job much earlier than anyone could have guessed.

This won't help his confidence moving forward, but Daboll and Martindale did what they felt was needed. It's safe to say others will lose their starting roles too if the Giants, 1-3 on the year, continue to display poor play each Sunday.