Deonte Banks has not come especially close to living up to his first-round draft slot. The Giants declined the cornerback’s fifth-year option in May. Although Cor’Dale Flott joined the Titans in free agency, the Giants made two significant cornerback investments — free agent Greg Newsome and second-round pick Colton Hood — in Banks’ contract year. New Giants secondary coach Addison Lynch said (via the New York Post’s Paul Schwartz) that Banks’ first-round traits are “absolutely” visible, but Schwartz adds the Giants will not save a roster spot for the corner if he only profiles as a kick-return option.
Newsome worked opposite Paulson Adebo as the boundary CB starter during the Giants’ offseason program, Schwartz adds. The former Browns and Jaguars corner joins Banks and Hood in vying for the job. Banks entered a third season as a starter last year but saw Flott replace him. Flott joined the Titans on a three-year, $45MM contract, but Newsome and Hood being added by the John Harbaugh-led regime makes Banks’ status worth monitoring ahead of the August roster-setting deadline. Banks is due a guaranteed $2.6MM base salary and counts $4.32MM on the Giants’ cap sheet.
Here is the latest from NFL secondaries weeks away from training camp:
- A year after losing Adebo, the Saints saw Alontae Taylor depart in free agency. Taylor joins Flott in Tennessee, signing a three-year deal worth $58MM. The team’s offseason program brought a combination of Kool-Aid McKinstry and Quincy Riley at outside cornerback, according to ESPN.com’s Katherine Terrell. The Saints looked into adding a corner early in the draft — to the point the Chiefs traded in front of them for LSU’s Mansoor Delane — but they did sign former Browns starter Martin Emerson. The ex-Cleveland perimeter starter could be heard from in training camp, but he joins Julian Blackmon as Saints DB vets coming off a missed season. Emerson suffered an Achilles tear last summer.
- Jonas Sanker, who spent the bulk of his time at free safety last season, regularly saw work in the slot during New Orleans’ offseason work, Terrell adds. A 2025 third-round pick, Sanker stepped in after Blackmon suffered a season-ending injury last summer. The Saints re-signed Blackmon shortly after the season, Terrell adds the former Colts starter worked alongside Justin Reid as a safety starter during 11-on-11 drills at minicamp. DC Brandon Staley viewed Sanker as a clear-cut candidate to replace Taylor, who logged 924 slot snaps from 2024-25, and it looks like that will be the Saints’ plan for the second-year player.
- Dolphins first-round pick Chris Johnson saw time inside and on the boundary during the Dolphins’ offseason program. The Dolphins need help at both spots, and ESPN.com’s Marcel Louis-Jacques notes the San Diego State product will fill one of them as a rookie-year starter. We have heard about slot and perimeter roles for Johnson this offseason, but it appears clear a thin Miami secondary will turn to the No. 27 overall pick as a first-stringer.
- Had **Justin...
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