The New York Giants traded up and selected Maryland cornerback Deonte Banks in Round 1 (No. 24) of the 2023 NFL draft.
“He’s a prototype from a size standpoint. He’s athletic. He’s physical. He can run. He ran 4.32 at the Combine. He has arm length, big hands,” general manager Joe Schoen told reporters. “He’s been a four-year starter. He was hurt a year ago but he has played a lot of ball there at Maryland and schematically, he’s a good fit. And we spent a lot of time with him. Met with him at the Combine. He’s a guy that, you know, we went down to the pro day, and we spent a good amount of time with him, and again we felt comfortable with him.
“He’s a personable individual. Football intellect was good. Very good understanding of their defense. You know, made a good first impression at the Combine.”
Here are some pre-draft scouting reports on Banks from around the draft-o-sphere.
NFL Network's Lance Zierlein
From Zierlein:
Perimeter corner with desired blend of size, strength and athleticism. Banks is capable of release disruption from press. He plays with smooth hips and easy feet to pedal and glide around the field. He’s capable of matching the release and running with his opponent. However, he struggles to play with poise and awareness when his back is to the football. He needs to play with better route anticipation and reactive quickness at the break point, but his eye-popping NFL Scouting Combine testing and scheme versatility should create interest from a wide range of NFL teams. Banks has first-round traits and could become a CB1 if he can play with better discipline when challenged.
The Draft Network
From The Draft Network:
Banks has shown the ability to play both press and odd coverage at a high level. In press, Banks shows to be very physical and wants to get into physical combat with receivers because he is confident in his natural strength to disrupt the timing of their release and route. Once into the route, Banks can stay on top of receivers or play a trail technique—he is able to show off his athleticism in either. Banks has smooth, fluid hips and can sink in and out of breaks to stay in phase with receivers to make a play on the football. At the catch point, Banks has the awareness and the length to challenge receivers for the football and make catches difficult to make. In off-coverage, Banks is able to come out his back pedal quickly, plant, and drive to break up passes on underneath routes as a physical defender.
Banks is a physically impressive cornerback with plus-level height and length. He also has rare reactionary athleticism for a corner his size, showing the ability to flip his hips run vertical, then sink his hips and break back downhill toward the ball.
Banks’ improvements as a player stem from his improving his ability to be consistent in his technique. In press coverage Banks tends to get too aggressive and will two-hand jam receivers which could lead to him missing and them being able to stack him vertically or resulting in him having to grab and hold defenders. Banks also shows a tendency to hold and grab defenders throughout the route, which could result in pass interference penalties in the NFL. Banks is a plus-level athlete but not elite to the point where his athleticism can naturally make up for his flaws in his lack of technique. For Banks to be effective in man-to-man coverage, he has to be consistent with his technique. Banks also needs to improve his discipline in zone coverage. He is aggressive to attempt to jump passes and leaves himself vulnerable to double moves and giving up big plays.
The Athletic's Dane Brugler
From Brugler:
A four-year starter at Maryland, Banks was an outside cornerback in defensive coordinator Brian Williams’ balanced scheme. After missing almost all of the 2021 season with a shoulder injury, he got better as the 2022 season went on, including a strong performance versus Ohio State (and Marvin Harrison Jr.) that showed the strengths and weaknesses of his game. A cover-and-clobber corner, Banks has the competitive makeup and smooth hips/feet to become a receiver’s shadow in man coverage. His read-react ability to sort routes from zone needs work to create more breakup opportunities, but he is an above average high-to-low tackler. Overall, Banks needs to add more discipline to his play style, but when he trusts his technique, he has the size, athleticism and physicality of an NFL starter. He projects best as an outside, press-man cornerback with upside in zone looks.
Pro Football Network
From Pro Football Network:
At 6’0” and almost 200 pounds, Banks has the combined explosiveness, long speed, fluidity, short-area twitch, and foot speed to both match and gather receivers off the line, as well as trail and close gaps in zone. His overall athletic profile is elite, encompassing every tool necessary to cover in the modern NFL.
Banks’ athletic profile is high-end in both quality and completeness, and on top of his physical foundation, he’s an extremely physical competitor who can jar receivers in press, make plays in run support, and use his competitive toughness to contest receivers at the catch point.
Banks’ man technique needs to become more consistent, and he can be a more consistent playmaker — both when getting his eyes on the ball, and when coming upfield in support. Nevertheless, Banks has flashed discipline with his technique, and he has the athletic tools and temperament to eventually become a scheme-versatile impact starter on the boundary with additional development.
The 33rd Team
From The 33rd Team:
Deonte Banks is a press corner with ideal size and high-level athletic tools that flashes a physical streak that catches your eye. There are a few corners that are higher ranked at the moment; but if he tests well and checks some other boxes in the pre-draft process, don’t be surprised if he sneaks into the back end of Round 1.
Draft Wire
From Draft Wire:
A corner who excels at maximizing his natural physical gifts, Deonte Banks had a breakout year during his senior season at Maryland. He managed to nab 29 tackles, nine pass breakups, one interception, and surrendered an excellent rating of 71.4 when targeted by quarterbacks.
As a pass defender Banks has prototypical size for the position, he combines that with an excellent blend of athleticism, strength, and technique to make a force as a perimeter corner. He excels in a variety of coverages but is at his best in press man, where he is as physical as they come off the line, jabbing receivers off the line and stunning their routes before flipping his hips and running with them down the field. His quick feet and second gear make him ideal in mirror coverage down the field, and his ability to stop and start allow him to run in zone as well as a prowling defensive back that can close quickly on plays in front of him. Banks plays the sideline well, using his length and strength to force receivers to be pinned between defender and the boundaries.
As a tackler Banks is yet again solid, showing a willingness to get down and dirty when ball carriers come his way, and excels in wrapping up with longer arms in excellent play strength for the position. He closes quickly on screens, exploding off his hips into the receiver and delivering punishing blows to end plays quickly. Banks is a menace of a hitter and makes it his job to punish ball carriers entering his area of play.
When Banks does defend down field shots he has a habit of panicking which lead to some interference calls and will lead to a lot more in the future if not corrected. It comes with a similar concern that Banks did not make more plays on the football down the field, and can often get lost on double moves, desperately forcing himself back in on the play by trying to mirror his receiver instead of playing the football. Defensive coaches will need to work with him to achieve better instincts with attacking the football, and understanding hot to convert his recovery speed into more plays on the football, which should come with time.
ESPN
From ESPN:
Banks is a physical corner who is at his best in press-zone coverage, has the length and strength to reroute receivers off the line (although his technique will need to improve) and shows the fluidity to flip his hips and run with anyone vertically. He has very quick feet and lateral agility for a bigger corner. Banks’ ball production wasn’t great at Maryland, but he has flashed good ball skills. He does get into trouble when his back is to the ball and he tries to turn and locate. Banks is the most reliable tackler at cornerback on tape this year, and he plays with an aggressive mindset and excellent motor.
Athlon Sports
From Athlon Sports:
One of the breakout players of the 2022 season, Banks has a ton of speed, requisite length and an aggressive, physical playing style. He can play some off-man, where his recognition skills took a jump last season, but he’s at his best as a confident press corner who can reroute receivers early in the down.
He’s very good at the catch point, where his length and competitiveness stand out, and he has the recovery speed and enough fluid athleticism to run with receivers downfield, with the core and hip strength as well as balance to usher them out of bounds without getting too handsy.
He played Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr., the nation’s best wide receiver, as well as anyone last season. He’s solid in run support and a capable tackler in space.
Banks can look a little bit stiff in his transitions, allowing separation against quickness underneath. There were also some plays on which he panicked and got too grabby with his back to the ball.
