New York Giants 2023 Draft Class Report

It was a bit of a mixed bag for the New York Giants 2023 draft class's NFL regular-season debut. We check in with Inside Football and Pro Football Focus as well as our own notes to provide this rookie draft class update.

CB Deonte Banks

The first-round rookie had a fine night seeing his first NFL action. Early on, he made a big play to come off his own man in the end zone to help knock away a throw against another defender.

He gave up very little space in front of him, and in a bright spot of an otherwise dismal showing, the defensive secondary allowed seven receptions this week, none of which were allowed by Banks.

The rookie drew a flag for illegal contact and was only credited with one tackle because the Cowboys did not test him as much as Banks's fellow rookie teammate, Tre Hawkins III.

OC John Michael Schmitz

Other than for a poor red zone snap that all but ended the Giants' opening drive in the red zone, the rookie center was solid. Pro Football Focus had him for three pressures, tied for second most with left tackle Andrew Thomas on offense.

But what was interesting about Schmitz's night was that most of his double-team help blocks were sent to the left rather than the weaker right side. That, however, is more of a result of what the Cowboys did with their alignments.

Still, Schmitz did everything he could to show he belonged playing with the big guys, doing well on his double-team blocks. As the game continues to slow down more from him, he will only get better.

WR Jalin Hyatt

Hyatt played 25 snaps on offense, receiving just one pass target on the evening. The route was a deep middle crosser, and it was slightly behind the receiver, who, despite getting both hands on it, couldn't haul it in and thus was credited with a drop.

The wet conditions combined with the lack of pass protection made it challenging for the Giants to attempt many deep passes--in fact, this ball to Hyatt was quarterback Daniel Jones's lone deep pass attempt to go over 20 yards.

RB Eric Gray

Gray did not see any snaps on offense but had 11 snaps on special teams, all as a return specialist. On punt returns, Gray had one return for seven yards; on kickoffs, he had zero opportunities since all the Cowboys kickoffs were blasted out of the end zone.

Gray did well to secure his lone punt return despite the wet conditions. He otherwise made some smart decisions on the other punts, letting one go into the end zone for a touchback and another get downed. On his lone punt return, he had some yardage for the taking but could not make the first man miss. Still, Gray finished as one of the better special teams performers for the Giants in Week 1.

CB Tre Hawkins III

Hawkins received 25 coverage snaps to Banks's 15, allowing the lone pass target against him to go complete for 19 yards, while the two balls that came Bank's way were both incomplete.

Hawkins was flagged for defensive pass interference early in the game (on third down) when he made contact with receiver Brandin Cooks while flailing his arms trying to disrupt the pass. Hawkins was also flagged for a legitimate holding penalty when beaten on another pass play.

Hawkins still plays with a touch of panic in his game, which will gradually disappear as he becomes confident in his game.

In run defense, Hawkins finished with seven tackles (second on the team behind linebacker Micah McFadden). Of those seven tackles, Hawkins had two solos and one assist in run defense, which was an otherwise good showing for him in that area.

DB Gervarrius Owens

Owens was inactive due to a hamstring injury suffered in the team's preseason finale against the Jets.

DL Jordon Riley

Riley saw some snaps in relief of Dexter Lawrence at the nose guard and continued his fine showing from the preseason. Riley recorded one of the defense's two tackles for a loss in the first half, leading to a 2-yard loss. Where Riley had his struggles, though, was in attacking space when it was present. He was walled off too frequently by single blocking, something he will need to learn to defeat as he progresses.

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