Getty Image / Mitchell Leff
During the 2022 NFL season, the New York Giants surprised football fans by making a run to the second round of the playoffs.
This off-season, the pressure is on for the Giants to recreate that success even as they face the challenge of playing in a tough NFC East.
Over the course of the offseason, they’ve made some big moves to keep their success going.
They traded for Darren Waller and signed Bobby Okereke.
They also put together another solid draft after years of letting their fans down on draft night under Dave Gettleman.
Now it looks like they are already feeling pretty good about one of the players they landed in this year’s draft.
The Giants traded up one spot to take Deonte Banks with the 24th pick in this year’s draft.
Today, Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale said that
"What's Ted Lasso say? He lives life like a goldfish"
Wink Martindale on Deonte Banks: https://t.co/UXcXashkB7 pic.twitter.com/8bJIGKfiQd
— GiantsTV (@GiantsTV) June 8, 2023
“I think it’s important to have a cornerback like that in anybody’s defense,” Martindale said. “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.”
He also added in that getting Banks is like winning a scratch-off ticket.
The Giants definitely needed some help in their secondary heading into the 2023 season and it doesn’t get much better than landing Banks at the back end of round 1.
With Banks and Okereke joining a defense that already features a formidable pass rush, the Giants should be much improved from their 17th rank in scoring last season.
We’ll have to wait and see if the New York Giants really did get a winning ticket with Banks, but things definitely look like they’re still moving in the right direction with the front office and coaching staff heading into their 2nd year.