Paulson Adebo Content With Traveling in NY Giants Defensive Backfield

Paulson Adebo's well-traveled day in the New York Giants' secondary was relatively buried in a Week 1 disappointment.

Aug 16, 2025; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants cornerback Paulson Adebo (21) looks on ptpg against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

If anything, Paulson Adebo at least got his steps in during his New York Giants debut on Sunday afternoon.

Adebo played his first game as a Giant on Sunday and moved across the field as a traveler of sorts in the 21-6 defeat. 

Despite the game carrying a relatively one-sided aura in the red hosts' favor, the Giants' defensive efforts, partly paced by Adebo, kept things at least visually close on the score until the very end, when the bough finally broke on a poor offensive showing.

"I thought on defense, we did a lot of good things," Adebo analyzed in his return to East Rutherford on Monday. 

"On offense, we did some good things as a team. I think we just need to clean up some technique and detail stuff. But I think you just come in and look at the things we could have done better, focus on those things, and then also keep doing and improving on the things we did well."

Sunday marked Adebo's return to NFL action after a medically induced absence of nearly 11 months, as he broke his femur during the last of four seasons with the New Orleans Saints. 

That wasn't enough to keep the Giants away, as Big Blue offered a big contract to the tune of $54 million over the next three seasons, with $38 million guaranteed.

"I definitely just was eager and excited to come out and play," Adebo said. "I love playing football. And then to be able to play with all the guys that we have and the energy that we felt on the sidelines. I think all that was just amazing and fun and just a glimpse of what's to come."

Mostly working in man coverage during his day in The Big Easy, Adebo moved around the field on Sunday in an effort to stifle the momentum of a defending NFC finalist's offense, covering various receivers during the divisional duel. 

He probably did his best work on Washington playmaker Terry McLaurin, who was targeted only four times and posted two catches for 27 yards while Adebo was his primary escort.

Even with his success in convention shutdown man sets, Adebo has embraced being a traveler, as it allows him to fulfill the expectations of his eight-figure contract. 

His Monday comments made it sound like he's ready for a similar experience next Sunday in Arlington when the Giants (0-1) face another division match against the Dallas Cowboys (1 p.m. ET, FOX), who boast both CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens in their aerial arsenal.

"I think you definitely want to do whatever is best for the team," Adebo, currently the sixth-highest paid cornerback for the 2026 season, said. 

"If that's taking out their number one guy in a week and taking on that challenge, then absolutely. You just look at whether a team has one receiver, two receivers, or three receivers.

Often, from the outside, it seems like one person is in charge. But as a football player and knowing that the number two guy is also really, really, good sometimes, and the third guy is also good."

"Different receivers have different strengths. Sometimes it's a matchup thing. Sometimes it's a scheme thing. I think you don't want to get your ego involved in it," Adebo continued.

"I don’t want to take the guy every time – it's more just like, hey, we're trying to win the game. Whatever is needed, we're willing to do. Then obviously, you trust the coaches and they have the same kind of mindset."

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