Brian Daboll Hedges on Expressing Confidence in Embattled Defensive Back

Deonte Banks has continued to struggle with the Giants, and yet he might have a bigger role moving forward, so long as Paulson Adebo is out with a knee injury.

New York Giants cornerback Deonte Banks | Julian Leshay Guadalupe/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll has said in the past that he has confidence in any player who gets put out on the field for the team.

So perhaps he didn’t feel the need to say it again, or maybe he feels otherwise, but when asked on Wednesday about what his confidence level was in cornerback Deonte Banks, should Paulson Adebo (knee) have to miss Sunday's game in Philadelphia, Daboll side-stepped the question.

“He'll do everything he can to be as ready as he can be. Coaches will work with him,” Daboll said. 

Does that mean he has confidence in the player?

“Again, all those decisions, who can go, who can't go ... that'll be decided on Friday. Tae is working hard, doing everything he can,” Daboll said.

If Daboll is feeling any concern about Banks, it’s justified, especially given the latest showing after Adebo, the team’s No. 1 cornerback, went down in the second half of the Giants' 33-32 loss to the Denver Broncos on Sunday. 

In run defense, Banks, per NFL+, played seven snaps, failing to register a single tackle.  

What was most concerning about Banks’ run defense was the effort —or rather, the lack of physicality. 

On Broncos running back J.K. Dobbins’ 32-yard run in the third quarter, Banks went against fullback Adam Prentice, failing to fight off the block as Dobbins ran right by him.

In the fourth quarter, with Dobbins again running to Banks's side for a 7-yard gain, the cornerback appeared to hesitate, waiting to see where Dobbins went before finally accelerating toward the runner, his arrival too late. 

And on Nix’s 18-yard touchdown run, Banks was again passive in trying to get off a block as the quarterback ran right past him.

Oct 19, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) runs for a touchdown as offensive tackle Garett Bolles (72) defends against New York Giants cornerback Deonte Banks (2) in the fourth quarter at Empower Field at Mile High. | Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

Banks wasn’t much better in coverage, despite all three of his tackles (two solo) coming against the pass. 

He allowed 3-of-4 pass targets against him to be completed, one of which went for a touchdown, albeit a fluke score when the ball ricocheted off the hands of receiver Courtland Sutton to receiver Troy Franklin.

Of the four pass targets against him, two went for 38 yards, the longest of which was a 22-yarder to Sutton on a play in which, although Banks had his head turned around, he didn't, despite being close enough to do so, stick his hands in the receiver’s way in an attempt to break up the pass.

When asked if Banks was the next man up if Adebo couldn’t go, Daboll redirected. 

“Again, we'll see where Paulson is. We'll see where Paulson is, but Tae’s got to be ready to play. They all do.”

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