Big Blue View
The New York Giants 2026 training camp is just a week away.
In previous years, it’s seemed like the roster was pretty much set by the time that year’s draft wrapped up. There were a few opportunities for competition in training camp, but for the most part we knew what the roster and depth chart would look like.
That doesn’t appear to be the case for 2026.
As things stand now, there is the potential for competition across the roster in John Harbaugh’s first year. Some position groups are likely set, but there are plenty where it remains to be seen just how the depth chart takes shape. We could be in for some real surprises once the preseason wraps up and final cutdowns are made.
So, just for fun, we’ll take a stab at predicting how some of the most important camp battles could play out.
Deonte Banks is again fighting for a starting cornerback job, but with a couple of key differences from last season.
To start, this time he’s the underdog fighting for a spot. Last year, he was the incumbent starter trying to fight off Cor’Dale Flott, who was trying to win a big second contract. This year, it was widely assumed that either Greg Newsome II or Colton Hood would take the starting job across from Paulson Adebo.
The second difference is that the Giants have returned to the type of defense that Banks was drafted to play in.
And so Banks has made a fight of it, earning starting reps through OTA’s and mini-camp. The training camp battle for the starting job seems to be Banks against Newsome, while Hood is developing on the second team.
Prediction:
Banks wins the starting job. I wouldn’t have predicted this a few months ago, but we’ve seen enough reports of him being a top performer in practices to think that he’s taking well to the new scheme and coaching. If so, his elite athletic traits and ability to force tight coverages work well with what Wilson wants to run. Likewise, Banks has primarily played the left side, which would allow Paulson Adebo to stick to the right side.
Kickers are people too! And considering how important the kicking game has been to the Giants over the past few years, this definitely deserves to be mentioned early in our rundown.
This camp battle is a straight-up kicker’s duel between undrafted rookie Dominick Zvada and wily veteran (of three games) Ben Sauls. Zvada comes into training camp with the perceived lead in the battle, as he has been the Giants’ most consistent kicker throughout the off-season program. That said, Sauls was perfect on field goals (8 for 8) and extra points (7 for 7) in three games for the Giants a year ago.
Prediction:
Zvada wins the competition outright. Sauls being reliable on gameday counts for a lot in his favor. Teams have little patience for inconsistent specialists, and Sauls being reliable in the regular...
