Deonte

Banks

Lawrence has been dealing with a hamstring injury the back half of the season, but has played through it the last few weeks. DT A’Shawn Robinson (back) and CB Deonte Banks (shoulder) were other key defenders that did not practice for the Giants. It is still early in the week, but the Giants have a few key defenders dealing with injuries in Week 17.

The Giants moved up one spot to land Banks in the first round. Banks has elite, 4.35 speed and impressive lateral agility. He left the combine with a 9.99 RAS. His unparalleled athleticism also shows up when he steps up to take on running backs. Banks will start in Week 1 for a Giants defense that ranked 13th in passing yards per game allowed last year.

Jacksonville reportedly picked up the 160th overall pick and 240th overall pick to move down one spot. Banks (6’0/197) is a self-made three-star recruit who went to his home-state school of Maryland and became an immediate core contributor for the Terps secondary. He entered the starting lineup in the fourth game of his true freshman season, using his 4.35s 40 speed and ready-made frame to earn 478 snaps. The pandemic and a shoulder injury limited Banks to just seven games from 2020-2021, but his 38 tackles, 9 PBU, and 43% catch rate allowed merited Honorable Mention All-Big Ten level attention last year, putting Banks on the NFL Draft radar. A menace to contain in the run game, he only missed one tackle in 29 attempts which earned him a pristine 89.2 tackling grade from PFF. Though his 2022 campaign was no-doubt impressive, Banks really started climbing the board after his sizzling Combine performance, testing in the 99th percentile in the 10-yard split (1.45s), vertical (42”), and broad jump (11’04) for a near-perfect 9.99 RAS. The physically gifted corner is clean in his transitions and has a relentless will to compete and play through the catch.