Two NY Giants Pegged as Under-the-Radar Players to Watch for in 2025 Season

It’s been three years since the New York Giants last shocked the NFL world with a successful first campaign under the Joe Schoen-Brian Daboll regime during the 2022 season.

The franchise, which has since gone 9-25 in the following two seasons, including a historically bad 3-14 finish last fall, is once again looking to do the unthinkable, but this time with mounting pressure on its leadership and the cards severely stacked against it.

While they've made countless improvements to various weaknesses on the roster, particularly under center with a whole new quarterback room led by projected starter Russell Wilson, the Giants are about to face the league's toughest schedule, and most of their talent is still very young and looking to earn their stripes at the highest level of football.

Suppose they are to make some noise and combat the low expectations for this season. In that case, many will likely watch for how critical pieces like Wilson, wide receiver Malik Nabers, and rookie edge rusher Abdul Carter perform, given that all are leading talents on both sides of the ball.

One person not looking plainly at the star players is CBS Sports writer Zachary Pereles, who in his new list of the 50 under-the-radar players who could help shape the 2025 season, thinks that not enough is being said about two different names in the Giants’ locker room—wide receiver Darius Slayton and cornerback Deonte Banks.

Pereles chose Slayton first on the rankings for Giants players and placed him second among his fellow pass catchers.

“Slayton seems to be a trade candidate every season, yet he just stayed in New York and stayed producing,” Pereles said.

“Since Slayton entered the NFL in 2019, he's one of four players who have caught at least 200 passes on at least 15 yards per reception, alongside Justin Jefferson, A.J. Brown, and Mike Williams. Now, on a new contract, he's paired with Russell Wilson, who loves to throw the deep ball. Expect another consistent Slayton season with his usual share of explosive plays.”

Despite the subpar nature of the Giants' offense in his first six years with the organization, one can’t doubt the importance that Slayton has had in their limited success through the air. He has been a reliable target for the quarterback by posting four 700+ yard seasons with 17 total touchdowns in that same span.

On the other hand, Slayton’s ceiling has certainly not been approached as a result of the inconsistency at the helm. He and Daniel Jones had an early spark as rookies in 2019, but the veteran receiver was then often overlooked deep amid Jones’ inability to stay poised in the pocket and let routes develop.

It was a big reason why Slayton regressed to his second-worst season with only 39 catches for 573 yards and two touchdowns.

He was hardly alone in that struggle as the entire Giants offense ranked in the bottom five teams in passing yards, touchdowns, and yards per attempt behind four different signal callers.

With Wilson, who was top five in deep passing grade last season, taking over the huddle, all that should revert in Slayton’s favor where he is expected to be a stronger No. 2 receiving threat behind Nabers and will be counted on to make big plays happen across the middle and in space as he has done throughout his career.

Sep 22, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns wide receiver Amari Cooper (2) makes a touchdown reception under coverage by New York Giants cornerback Deonte Banks (3) during the first quarter at Huntington Bank Field. | Scott Galvin-Imagn Images

Banks, who landed in the very last spot of the nominees, was more of a surprise choice given how much he has struggled to develop into a solid coverage man. The Giants had hopes for their former first-round pick to be their long-term answer at CB1, but are now turning to veteran addition, Paulson Adebo, for that same role.

In 449 coverage snaps last season, Banks finished with a 50.3 grade that was the second-worst on the team, allowing completions on 67.1% of his targets as the primary defender for 689 yards, six touchdowns, and 202 yards after the catch.

Banks led a Giants secondary that was among the worst at getting their hands on the football, with 11 forced incompletions. However, his other numbers still gave his opponent a whopping 124.7 passer rating, which is simply too high for a player treated like a shutdown corner. He also had issues in man coverage and was often one of the most penalized Giants defenders, which only set the entire team back.

There should be agreement that, even with a strong defensive front ready to create havoc, the Giants need their secondary to take a step up in production and make New York one of the tougher units to score against. The group will ride behind the leadership of Adebo and safety Jevon Holland, but the Giants need Banks to grow and embrace his identity as a reliable No. 2 corner.

The good news is that many players, including Banks, have been buying into the new culture that the Giants are trying to create this season, led by Wilson and their retooled defensive lineup.

To reach that surprising success that they found just three seasons ago when they made it back to the postseason, it's going to take a lot more than just a handful of star pieces to climb back up the mountain.

That all starts in training camp, where players can finally show the improvements they've made this offseason and give the Giants a few breakout weapons that the rest of the league doesn't see coming.

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