New York Giants Free Agency/Draft Preview: Finding Cornerback Depth a Priority
In the lead-up to the 2023 season, the New York Giants began a youth movement in their secondary, one that gave some pause for concern after a defensive insurgence carried them into a postseason berth in year one of the Joe Scheon-Brian Daboll regime.
After erasing overpriced talent from the position, the team added Deonte Banks and Tre Hawkins III via the draft. Both assumed the outside cornerback spots and headed a group of ballhawks with mostly under seven years of NFL experience.
While this created an expectation for growing pains throughout the year, the Giants' core of neophytes was able to flash some impressive moments as the season wore on. Their development in the Wink Martindale system led to aggressive playmaking and timely forced turnovers, collectively helping make the defense a top-20 pass defense unit by the end of a 6-11 campaign.
One of the best stories from the cornerbacks room was first-round pick Banks. The Maryland product drew early skepticism about where he was selected amongst his peers. Still, he proved he could be a diamond in the rough, posting 64 tackles, two interceptions, 11 pass deflections, and six tackles for loss in 15 games as an immediate starter taking on premier opposing receivers.
Banks’s work finished fifth on the Giants' defensive leaderboard and showed his upside as a No. 1 cornerback who excels in both man and zone coverage. He led a supporting cast that is mostly set to return in 2024 but had consistency issues stemming from injuries that either sidelined guys or forced them to play out of their usual roles weekly.
The Giants saw a full slate of games from just two cornerbacks, Hawkins and Nick McCloud. The latter finished as the team’s leading enforcer in the turnover department with one interception and three forced fumbles. The rest of the squad missed between one and three games, respectively, and only one of those players, veteran Adoree Jackson, amassed 60+ tackles in that span.
If sheer rawness and injuries weren’t enough, the Giants secondary must adapt to a new defensive system brought by incoming defensive coordinator Shane Bowen. It’s a quick transition that could be challenging for a youthful bunch without a full year together, yet one that showed they can learn fast, given their coverage improvements in the second half of the season.
The Giants will have two cornerbacks testing the free-agent market in Jackson and Darnay Holmes. If both end up departing the team as expected, it’ll lend to an even slimmer core that will need some reinforcements to become a better contender in the 2024 season.
That should be the position's focus as the franchise sets its sights on the free agency window and the NFL Draft in April. The franchise must somehow find the guys who can fit into the Bowen system, add that much-needed depth in case of the inevitable injury woes, or potentially serve as starters and mentors to the developing bucks next fall.
More Position Group Free Agency/Draft Previews
Quarterback | Running Back | Tight End | Interior Offensive Line | Wide Receivers | Offensive Tackle | Defensive Line | Inside Linebacker | Outside Linebacker
Personnel Recap
- Under Contract: Deonte Banks, Cor’Dale Flott, Tre Hawkins III, Kaleb Hayes, Stantley Thomas-Oliver III, Aaron Robinson
- UFA’s: Darnay Holmes, Adoree Jackson
- RFA’s: Nick McCloud
- ERFA’s: N/A
In looking at the current personnel at the cornerback position who are set to hit the open market, the most notable name on the list is Adoree Jackson.
There is a case to say that the Giants didn’t deal the seven-year veteran a fair shake during the 2023 season. At the start, he was asked to shift to unfamiliar territory and play the slot position so that Deonte Banks and Tre Hawkins III could become the new fixtures outside.
Not long after that, the much more familiar injury bug reared its head again, and Jackson was sent back to his old perimeter role with mixed results. The Titans' 2017 first-round pick was astute at protecting the end zone with just two touchdowns allowed and six in three years with New York but saw some of his career-worst numbers in coverage statistics.
While he notched 63 tackles for the third-highest total of his career and factored into forcing turnovers, Jackson significantly declined his defensive efficiency, including opponent reception percentage (65.9%) on 82 targets and 13.9 yards per catch. He also had issues tacking with a missed rate of 15.7% and 382 yards after contact, some of the highest numbers as a Giants player.
As the season wore on, Jackson's performances seemed to fluctuate, likely leading to the end of his time in New York.
Regarding Darnay Holmes and Nick McCloud, the latter seems more likely to be back in blue when the dust settles from the free-agent frenzy. McCloud was a key player down the stretch of the regular season, playing increased reps amid injuries and limiting offensive damage with his turnover prowess.
The Giants would like to have him back for depth and special teams, whereas Holmes appears to have fallen out of favor as the primary slot cover guy (though he did excel on special teams as a punt gunner).
The rest of the position consists of players to which the Giants are committed and have some sort of upside outside of practice squad adjustments with Hayes or Thomas-Oliver. Aaron Robinson is a former third-round pick stuck on the injury reserve list since he showed up in 2021.
Deonte Banks
© Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
Top 3 Questions To Be Answered
Can Deonte Banks avoid a sophomore slump?
Deonte Banks has been one of the best defensive players from the 2023 draft class, and his rookie success only improved as the season progressed. He was a novice thrown into the fire from his very first Sunday and asked to stick it out with some of the elite wide receivers in the entire NFL.
Even though opposing teams took note of the Giants' young secondary and threw the 10th-highest number of targets at the cornerback, he had some of his best coverage performances in these games against the league’s best pass catchers. Banks had one of the lowest opposing reception percentages on the team at 57.6% and allowed more than 50 receiving yards in just four games.
There was a little bit of a road bump between Weeks 7-9 when he was targeted 35 times and allowed a couple of 100-yard outings. In the second half of the year, it became difficult for opposing receivers to do much against him, as Banks locked them down to under 40 yards, 33 yards after the catch and an average catch of 9.7 yards.
There is always the possibility of a sophomore slump with any NFL player, but Banks’ game has seemed to age nicely as he builds more reps. He just has to keep the penalties down, which got him in trouble in 2023, and then expect him to play like an All-Pro caliber corner next season.
Can Tre Hawkins III show enough improvement to earn a bigger role on defense?
After an impressive training camp and preseason, Tre Hawkins came crashing back down to earth when he was often overmatched against receivers whom he didn't see regularly in the preseason.
While he was active for all 17 games this past season, he only touched the field for nine of them and was a stronger producer against the run than his porous statistics against the passing attack.
The Giants selected Hawkins in the sixth round, making him look like a flier. He has talent--he’s a solid tackler and only gave up three touchdowns on the year. However, with the Giants likely to add a veteran to start opposite Banks, it remains to be seen what kind of role Hawins can have on defense.
Will the Giants target a veteran in free agency?
At this point, it’s fair to argue that the Giants aren’t completely sold yet on Tre Hawkins as the No. 2 guy on the perimeter, as evidenced by the team sprinkling other players in that spot during the season. The franchise is looking to bounce back from its lackluster campaign in 2023, and part of that will come with cleaning up the weak links in the coverage that killed the defense in certain games.
That said, the Giants are already looking into cornerbacks, having hosted Darious Williams, most recently with Jacksonville, for a visit. Williams is the first of several potential veteran cornerbacks who will see if they're a match with the Giants.
Draft or Free Agency?
The Giants need to add depth to their cornerback position no matter how they get there. They must value the experience factor because they are waiting for a few of their young players to fully blossom. That means they should jump into the free-agent market and sign one or two cornerbacks who can be immediate contributors.
Mar 7, 2024; Columbus, OH, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes cornerback Diante Griffin (43) runs past cornerback Denzel Burke (10) during spring football practice at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
Top 3 Draft Picks to Target
Denzel Burke, Ohio State: Burke is widely regarded as an exciting and promising cover man prospect, but most believe he has room for refinement. This could drop his draft stock to a Day 2 pick, at which point the Giants could look to start pursuing a cornerback.
He played three seasons with the Buckeyes, the best coming in 2021 when he recorded 37 tackles, an interception returned for a touchdown, and a 50.3 QB rating when targeted. His good mix of athleticism, flexibility, and physicality, which stood out in Big 10 competition, will help him overcome the statistical regression since that season.
Javon Bullard, Georgia: Bullard is a fairly tall and lengthy nickel defender at 5’11” and 195 lbs. who brings an aggressive mentality to his game that would go nicely in the Giants’ system. He was part of a versatile secondary school in Athens that figured to have numerous members go off for the board in April.
He likes to be active all over the field—finishing third on the team and second in his position with 56 tackles, five pass deflections, and two interceptions—and has the technical skills to be a nuisance for any NFL matchup.
Ennis Rakestraw Jr, Missouri: At his core, Rakenstraw is regarded as a premier man-coverage cornerback who helped contribute to one of the nation’s best cornerback groups in Missouri. He is a high-IQ, instinctual player who understands the game, anticipates schemes before the snap, and reacts quickly to disrupt and make a big-time play.
A lighter frame and 6 '11 " length allow him to be agile on his feet, stick on receivers' hips on their routes, and extend to disrupt passing lanes and contest catches in zone coverage. However, the best situation to maximize his skill set is in press-man schemes, where he has all the physicality and technique to get in the receiver's face and lock down their route from the jump.
Indianapolis Colts cornerback Kenny Moore II (23) warms up, Saturday, Jan. 6, 2024, before a game against the Houston Texans at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
Robert Scheer / USA TODAY NETWORK
Top Three Free Agents to Target
Kenny Moore, Indianapolis Colts: Moore was one of the most productive defensive players in the entire NFL last season and was a complete game-wrecker for teams that faced the Colts. If the Giants want to deploy their cornerbacks in pressure schemes again, Moore can get to the quarterback right off the snap. He is a versatile corner player who can also play in the slot. He has excellent reading ability, athleticism, and hands that can take the ball back in the other direction to change the momentum in the other direction.
Chidobe Awuzie, Cincinnati Bengals: Throughout his career, Awuzie has played significant reps for a couple of perennially successful teams in Dallas and Cincinnati, meaning he knows what it takes to play at the highest level and thrive against different types of offenses.
Last fall, he posted his fourth-best total tackles mark, rarely whiffed on any of his opportunities, and kept his matchups below 500 yards of total offense and three touchdowns in four of his seven NFL seasons. He is a candidate who can come in and play on the outside right away if the Giants aren’t ready to turn the reins over to their younger pieces.
Jourdan Lewis, Dallas Cowboys: Lewis is a full-time slot corner that the Giants could plug in that spot as they figure out the rest of their depth chart during the summer and 2024 season. He’s been an active member of the Cowboys' secondary and an efficient tackler (missed tackle rate of 7.9%). Still, that position has gotten so saturated with talent that he might look for a new destination where he can further shine. He needs some work in his zone coverage but has experience and familiarity with the NFC East division to provide some defensive value to the Giants.
