Giants CB Deonte Banks Among League Leaders at His Position in this Key Metric

New York Giants cornerback Deonte Banks finds himself near the top of leaderboards for an important cornerback statistic.

New York Giants cornerback Deonte Banks | Chris Pedota, NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK

It has been an up-and-down season for New York Giants cornerback Deonte Banks.

Banks and Cor’Dale Flott have split time at the outside corner this season; however, in Week 6, Banks saw just three snaps. 

Inconsistent play has cost Banks this season; he is currently second on the Giants' defense with four penalties. He has also allowed six receptions on eight targets for 96 yards and a touchdown.

Despite the decrease in playing time over the past two games, Banks, per Pro Football Focus, is fourth in the NFL among cornerbacks, bearing a lockdown percentage of 62.5%. 

In 40 lockdown opportunities, which PFF defines as “how well a defender prevents a receiver from getting open,” Banks has accomplished this 25 times this season.

Although Banks has had his struggles at cornerback, his ability to prevent opposing receivers from getting open has allowed him to succeed at times. The key for Banks when he receives opportunities will be consistency and building on plays where he can lock down his matchup.

Banks’ Giants star appears to be fading

In Weeks 1-5, Banks and Flott rotated, with Flott handling first and second downs, and Banks coming in on third downs. In Week 6, Flott looked to take firm control of the outside corner role opposite Paulson Adebo. Flott played 54 snaps to Banks’ three.

Facing an Eagles offense that went pass-heavy, Flott was able to outpace Banks in terms of lockdown percentage. Flott recorded seven lockdowns in 10 opportunities in Week 6, good for a 70% lockdown percentage, which is 7.5% higher than Banks’ season average.

Flott has outpaced Banks in reps in every game this season; however, it wasn’t until recently that Banks saw his snap count plummet. Although Banks has been able to improve in certain areas this season, Flott has been the Giants' more consistent option every week.

Sep 14, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; New York Giants cornerback Deonte Banks (2) reacts after a play against the Dallas Cowboys during the third quarter at AT&T Stadium. | Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

Athleticism has never been the question for Banks. In fact, his athletic ability has played a large part in his success at limiting opposing wide receivers off the line of scrimmage. But ultimately, many factors go into being a complete cornerback.

What has hurt Banks are penalties, and the mistakes in coverage have become a common theme. Although the talent is there for Banks, as long as Flott continues to be the more consistent option, it will be difficult for the Giants to justify playing Banks over him.

With fewer defensive snaps, Banks has seen his role on special teams rise over the past two weeks. In Weeks 5 and 6, Banks played 10+ snaps on special teams for the first time in consecutive games this season.

With Flott excelling over the last two weeks at outside corner, the Giants have to find a way to utilize Banks, and for now, that will be special teams. 

However, with his strong ability to frustrate opposing receivers, he could earn more playing time at corner; he will have to eliminate mistakes from his game. 

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