It's hard to keep track of all the guys fans are excited to see make their NY Giants debuts once Week 1 rolls around. High on the list, though, is first-round pick Deonte Banks. The cornerback will be ready to make a massive impact for this defense.
The hype is real for this kid and understandably so. There's a reason general manager Joe Schoen traded up to No. 24 overall to land him. And if you ask Maryland head coach Mike Locksley, his former CB has all the tools to be successful for Brian Daboll and defensive coordinator Wink Martindale. He made that much clear while speaking on the Giants Huddle Podcast:
NY Giants CB Deonte Banks has huge expectations for the 2023 season
""I'm an offensive guy and I've had some great receivers that I know put the fear of God into DBs at times because they read the press clippings, they watch him on tape and they may play tentative," the Maryland head coach said. "I mean, this kid will get in front of anybody no matter what name is across the front or back of the jersey. And as I've used the analogy, he's just dumb enough to not even really care, if he's going up against Odell Beckham or whoever the top guys are in that league. He does not care about names. He doesn't care about their reputation. It's like, he's not worried or fazed by who he's going against because he has that much confidence in his ability to play out on the island.""Mike Locksley via the NY Giants website
Those are some awesome words there from Locksley. Banks plays with a ton of swagger and he's always going to be confident in his abilities to prevent any playmaker from getting things done against him.
This is surely a trait that Martindale is going to love. Heck, Martindale was fired up when the Giants selected Banks, as he gave Schoen a massive bear-hug. Imagine how happy Martindale is going to be when training camp starts and he really gets to see what this youngster can do.
All in all, Banks is a tremendous talent and NY supporters are ready to see what he can do during his rookie campaign and beyond.