New York Giants Training Camp Preview: CB O'Donnell Fortune

The South Carolina cornerback will try to make the roster.

Jan 30, 2025; Arlington, TX, USA; East defensive back O'Donnell Fortune of South Carolina (20) is presented with the defensive MVP trophy after the East defeats the West in the East-West Shrine Bowl at AT&T Stadium. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The New York Giants seem to be in a constant search for defensive back help. This offseason, they addressed the position in free agency first by adding safety Jevon Holland from the Miami Dolphins and cornerback Paulson Adebo from the New Orleans Saints. 

They also decided to bring in defensive backs in the seventh round of the draft and then as undrafted free agents. One of those players was South Carolina cornerback O'Donnell Fortune. 

Fortune is a rare five-year performer with the same college. That's loyalty you simply don't see in this NIL world. He came into college and worked his way from a special team player to a quality backup and then eventually became a starter. 

He has shown tremendous patience as a defender. He plays with a veteran savvy and makes receivers declare their intentions before he commits to covering their move. 

Fortune has size, but he is not the most physical defensive back. What he lacks in physicality, he works to make up for in instincts. 

This is why he plays so well in the zone or off-man. It allows him to see what is happening and react to it accordingly. 

After not recording an interception in his first two seasons, he was able to pick off the quarterback's pass at least twice each year over his final three seasons. 

Over his final two seasons, he continued to improve his ball skills and began to secure more passes. In 2023, he recorded a career-high six pass breakups, and the following season, he added three more. 

He is a testament to the importance of continually improving in your craft and the doors it opens for you.

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O'Donnell Fortune, CB

Height: 6-1
Weight: 185  lbs.
Exp.: R
School: South Carolina
How Acquired: UDFA-'25

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2024 in Review

Fortune was a fifth-year senior with the Gamecocks who chose to stay loyal to his team instead of entering the transfer portal. 

He started all 13 games in his final season playing for South Carolina. He recorded 47 tackles; 41 were solo stops, and two were tackles for loss. 

He had three pass breakups and three interceptions in his final campaign. He earned an honorable mention All-SEC for his efforts. 

During the postseason evaluation period, he participated in the East/West Shrine Bowl. He earned the defensive MVP after playing well all week, intercepting a pass and returning it for a touchdown in the game. 

His senior season proved that he could make plays as a man and zone coverage cornerback. 

Contract/Cap Info

O'Donnell Fortune's base salary for 2025 is $840,000, with a cap hit of $845,000. He signed a 3-year, $2,980,000 contract with the New York Giants, which included a $15,000 signing bonus and $165,000 in guaranteed salary, for an average annual salary of $993,333. His base salary for 2026 is $1,005,000, and for 2027 is $1,120,000. 

2025 Preview

Fortune would excel in a defensive scheme that emphasized zone coverage. The questions about Fortune — and likely why he did not get drafted — are based on his perceived lack of quickness and limited physicality. 

He had the length and the size to play in the league, but if he wants to stick, he will have to prove a lot of evaluators wrong. 

He will need to do that in the shadow of a new free-agent safety and corner and with people trying to determine if Cor'Dale Flott and Deonte Banks are indeed the future of this team. 

He has to prove it and show he can be better than second-year man Dru Phillips. That is an uphill battle. Fortune is, instead, likely competing for a spot on the team's practice squad.

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