The New York Giants secondary finds itself in a position that is at once very familiar from a year ago and very different at the same time.
Last year, we saw incumbent starter and former first round pick cornerback Deonte Banks pit against Cor’Dale Flott in a battle to start opposite free agent corner Paulson Adebo. It was widely assumed that Banks’ superior athletic traits would carry the day and he would settle into being a good “CB2” opposite Adebo with another off-season of development.
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Instead Flott won the battle, never relinquished his starting spot, and earned a big second contract with the Tennessee Titans.
Battle at cornerback
And here we are, once again with Banks embroiled in a battle for the Giants’ second starting cornerback job. There are some notable differences this time around, however.
First and foremost, Banks is competing with another former first round pick in Greg Newsome II, and Newsome has started the off-season program as the “starting” corner, with Banks rotating in. And in an added wrinkle, both Newsome II and Banks have to fend off second-round rookie Colton Hood. Hood has primarily served as a second-team cornerback during OTAs.
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Newsome had success early in his career, breaking out early for the Cleveland Browns. However, he too regressed amid coaching turmoil in Cleveland and a trade to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Like Banks, Newsome bring upside in man
The second difference between now and a year ago is coaching. There were a few coaching factors that we simply didn’t take into account last year. To start, we discounted the impact that Jerome Henderson may have had on the Giants’ corners. Henderson was widely regarded as one of the best secondary coaches in the NFL, and was one of Banks’ biggest supporters. Henderson was also the coach who publicly called out Banks’ effort in his sophomore season, which might have contributed to his firing. That, however, looks markedly different after revelations regarding a lack of accountability from the top down under Brian Daboll, as well as questions regarding attention to detail under Shane Bowen.
Daboll has been replaced by a much more experienced head coach in John Harbaugh, and Bowne by Dennard Wilson.
We don’t yet know precisely what Wilson’s scheme will look like, but we can assume it will be aggressive. While Wilson is generally considered a “Ravens 2.0” disciple he has coached under a very interesting selection of defensive minds: Gregg Williams (Rams: 2012, 2014-2016, Jets: 2019), Todd Bowles (Jets: 2017-2018), Jonathan Gannon (Eagles, 2021-2022), Vic Fangio (Eagles: 2022), Mike MacDonald (Ravens: 2023).
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Coming with Wilson is secondary coach Donald D’Alesio and defensive backs coach Addison Lynch. D’Alesio previously coached under Steve Spagnuolo with the Kansas City Chiefs while Lynch coached under Vance Joseph with the Denver Broncos.
The Eagles (Fangio) called the highest rate of man coverage a year ago, the Broncos the second-highest rate, and the Chiefs called the eighth-highest rate of man coverage. The Eagles (1st), Chiefs (2nd), and Broncos (9th) were all in the Top-10 in EPA when playing man coverage. The Giants actually called the fifth-highest rate of man coverage and weren’t bad at it — 12th in EPA — however that was always an awkward fit with Shane Bowen’s philosophy and there were far too many breakdowns and blown assignments.
This week we’ll be looking to see if Newsome can continue to hold off Banks, whether Banks can continue to earn first team reps, and how Hood plays in his opportunities. We’ll also be looking to see how each of the Giants’ young cornerbacks develop under the new coaching staff. A better scheme and philosophic fit could benefit both Newsome and Banks, as well as foster Hood’s growth as a rookie.
Slot cornerback
Nickel is the de facto base defense of the NFL in the modern era. But what will that look like for the Giants in 2026?
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It’s generally assumed that Dru Phillips will be the Giants’ slot corner and primary nickel defender. He broke out as a rookie and quickly established himself as one of the league’s most disruptive slots and best young nickels. But, like pretty much every other member of the Giants’ defense, he took a step back in 2025 under Bowen — though he also rebounded nicely in the second half of the season under Charlie Bullen.
Phillips, though, shouldn’t take his spot as the starting slot for granted, as both Newsome and safety Ar’Darius Washington have versatility and the ability to play the slot.
Newsome’s best year coming when he split his time evenly between the slot and out side (374 snaps to 378). Washington, meanwhile, played 177 snaps as a box safety and 166 snaps as a slot corner in 2024. He was an excellent player for the Ravens that year, and one of the real weapons on their defense. We’ve heard reports that Washington has gotten opportunities with the first team defense as the slot/nickel when the Philips hasn’t been in attendance.
While the nickel defender hasn’t gotten the press that other position battles have this offseason, it will definitely be something to watch this week in mini-camp and on into training camp.
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