Why Giants Turned to Deonte Banks on Kickoffs in Week 4 Win

Special Teams Coordinator Michael Ghobrial exlained why he turned to Deonte Banks to return kicks for the first time this season.

Deonte Banks made in impact in his first game of the season at kick returner for the NY Giants. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

New York Giants cornerback Deonte Banks made an impact in a new way in Week 4 against the Los Angeles Chargers.

For the first time this season, Banks was called upon to return a kickoff, and his first return of the season played a role in an important scoring drive for the Giants. 

Following the Chargers' first scoring drive of the day, the Giants were looking for a response with 8:06 to play in the second quarter. Banks gave them a spark with his return that led to one.

Catching the kick at the Giants' 7-yard line, Banks cut upfield, shifting through a sea of blockers at the 25-yard line, finding an opening and dashing through it, before being brought down at the Giants’ 40-yard line for a return of 33 yards.

That return sparked the longest drive of the game for either side. The Giants then went 47 yards in 15 plays, taking up 6:14 off the clock, before kicking a field goal, which made it 13-3 Giants with 1:52 to play in the first half.

Banks finished the game with two returns for 54 yards, receiving the first kickoff of the second half for the Giants and returning it 21 yards to the Giants 25 25-yard line.

Checking the boxes

New York Giants cornerback Deonte Banks | Lucas Boland-USA TODAY Sports

Banks’ success as a kick returner was something special teams coordinator Michael Ghobrial had seen in practice since training camp.  

“Tae is obviously a gifted athlete. He has the elite top-end speed,” Ghobrial said. “He has the frame that you'd want in a returner, and he showed us that he has good ball skills.”

Banks, according to Ghobrial, check off several boxes as a return specialist. 

“The ability to have good catch mechanics is always the number one priority for me as a returner,” he said.

“The second thing, when the run skill shows up and the frame shows up and the speed shows up, you're like, okay, this guy has a chance to do it. He's done it before in his career, just by playing football. 

“He showed us a lot of promise throughout training camp, through these past few weeks, and it was cool to see him get a couple of explosives last week.”

Then there is the “want” part of the job, which Ghobrial said Banks displayed in the lead-up to his opportunity.

“He was fired up to do it, and there's also something to be said about a player that genuinely wants to be back there and do it,” he said. 

“He's well-liked by his teammates, so there's something to be said about the guys wanting to block for him as well. So, it was cool to give that guy an opportunity and cool to see him have success.

The Giants have had a different player return kicks in each game so far this season, with Devin Singletary, Tyrone Tracy Jr, Wan’Dale Robinson, and Banks all seeing time next to Gunner Olszewski. Banks tied Singletary for the longest kick return of the season for the Giants and third overall of 30 yards or longer.

Sunday was Banks’ first kick return in a live game since 2022 while at the University of Maryland. That season, he returned just one kick, a 19-yarder against Charlotte in 2022.

Between Banks's willingness and Ghobrial’s existing knowledge of the athleticism that Banks possessed, it was a no-brainer for Ghobrial to try him out at kick returner. On Sunday, he successfully replicated the success he had achieved in practice.

How Banks planted the idea in Ghobrial’s head

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

“It was probably a few months ago, our returners were catching off the JUGS machine, and he kind of came up to me. He's like, ‘You know I can do that.’ I said, ‘Don't tempt me right there.’ Because obviously he has the skill set to do it, and then he was back there just catching it very free and easy,” Ghobrial recalled.

“I was like, okay, let's start working with him a little bit more, and that's something obviously he had a lot of success with on Sunday.”

Banks was able to find success against the Chargers. Although he might not be a potential long-term option at kick returner, Ghobrial remains committed to evaluating the position on a week-to-week basis.

“Potentially. I mean, every week is a new week in terms of what players we’re able to use in that phase just because it deals with what we're doing offensively and defensively as well,” Ghobrial said.

“We'll have more conversations at the end of the week, but Tae is definitely a guy that could do it at a high level for a long time.”

What happens next with the NY Giants? Find out! Follow and like us on Facebook. Visit our YouTube channel for the latest videos. Want to send a question in for our mailbag? You can do so here.