Giants Country

Brandon Brown Details Giants' Process Behind  Deonte Banks Draft Pick

Banks, the team’s first-round pick, projects as one of the starting cornerbacks this season.

Patricia Traina

Brandon Brown Details Giants' Process Behind  Deonte Banks Draft Pick
Brandon Brown Details Giants' Process Behind  Deonte Banks Draft Pick /
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At the end of the 2022 season, members of the New York Giants management brass knew that cornerback was a glaring need moving forward. But finding the right cornerback among a sea of qualified draft prospects promised to be a task.

Luckily, the Giants found their man in former Maryland cornerback Deonte Banks, a draft pick for whom they traded up one spot in the first round to get, and a pick that assistant general manager Brandon Brown said was the result of a collaborative effort.

“I just loved our process with Deonte,” Brown said Wednesday. “It’s not just me; don’t just give me credit for that. I like to say our area scout (Marquis Pendleton). I mean, if you go back to September, Deonte wasn’t somebody that was on the radar. We had an area scout who watched him early and liked him.

One Bank landed on the team’s radar, and the more senior members of the Giants personnel department—general manager Joe Schoen, director of player personnel Tim McDonnell and assistant director of player personnel Dennis Hickey—all turned their attention to the future Giant, liking what they saw.

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Brown, in particular, said that one of the things that most impressed him about Banks was his competitiveness.

“I go live and go see him play against Ohio State. I see him get beat by (wide receiver) Marvin Harrison Jr. the first play of the game and then line right back up and play relentless with effort the rest of the game,” he recalled. “Then he ends the game and blocks a kick. I just think his competitiveness is something that you covet in our system, especially playing a lot of men.

“And then you fast forward, we have a touch point with him at the Combine, Dabs (head coach Brian Daboll) hits it off with him, and then we go down the road down to Pro Day. Myself and (special assistant to the general manager) Jessie Armstead have dinner with him pre-Pro Day, (defensive backs coach) Jerome (Henderson) spends time with him, we bring him up at a 30 visit. That’s a collaborative approach.

“Our sports scientists get to spend time with him; the analytics department makes sure he checks out and looks great in all our models, and player development spends time with him when he’s in the building. So, to me, that’s what you want the full collaborative approach from all departments to look like.”

According to defensive coordinator Wink Martindale, the Banks selection is just what the doctor ordered for the Giant's defense.

“I think it's important to have a cornerback like that in anybody's defense,” Martindale said last week. “He's very instinctive. What’s Ted Lasso say? He lives life like a goldfish. He’s got a short memory when things don't go right. He’s tough-minded, he’s physical, he can tackle, and on top of that, he can run. 

"So, we're excited about it. He’s getting into the groove. There’re still some rookie mistakes, which you expect that, especially this early, but we're really excited. I was obviously really excited that we got him. It was like winning a scratch-off ticket.”

Martindale and the rest of the Giants haven’t forgotten that Banks is a rookie who is still learning the ways of the NFL, which is why they’re not about to hold him to any unrealistic expectations so soon.

“The expectation is that he plays football,” Martindale said. “I brought up the Ted Lasso quote, that’s the way he is. He’s a smart kid that is grounded, and he doesn't make it bigger than what it is. I’m sure that they’re going to catch an eight-yard out on him, and everybody’s going to be up in arms, but that happens to every corner. We’ll be okay. I think the expectation is to go in there and play and play well.”

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Patricia Traina
PATRICIA TRAINA

Patricia Traina has covered the New York Giants for 30+ seasons, and her work has appeared in multiple media outlets, including The Athletic, Forbes, Bleacher Report, and the Sports Illustrated media group. As a credentialed New York Giants press corps member, Patricia has also covered five Super Bowls (three featuring the Giants), the annual NFL draft, and the NFL Scouting Combine. She is the author of The Big 50: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants. In addition to her work with New York Giants On SI, Patricia hosts the Locked On Giants podcast. Patricia is also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and the Football Writers Association of America.

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