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By most accounts, the New York Jets thoroughly trounced the New York Giants at joint practice on August 21. That, in itself, is not encouraging considering teams tend to give their starters more burn during joint practices than they do preseason outings in the modern NFL world.
Even more concerning was the play of one integral position group, however. SNY’s Jets and Giants insider Connor Hughes pointed out this potential deficiency after practice had ended.
“One thing is abundantly clear after Wednesday… [the Giants have] a serious issue at cornerback,” he wrote via SNY.tv. “You hope [Deonte] Banks takes a big jump in his second season, but they have virtually nothing opposite him. Cor’Dale Flott was bad before getting hurt. [Nick] McCloud has been awful, too. GM Joe Schoen needs to fix that and fix that quickly otherwise all the work on the defensive line will be for nothing.”
To make matters worse, Hughes also expressed concern over Banks’ performance during his immediate reaction on X.
“I think what alarmed me most from today’s Giants – Jets practice is that once Nick McCloud went out … [NYJ quarterback Aaron] Rodgers just started picking on Deonte Banks with the same ease/success,” he said. Adding ominously: “If they can’t rely on him either …”
The SNY insider finished his post-practice thoughts by urging the Giants front office to reconsider their stance on rolling with the youth at cornerback. “The Giants must find a corner to start opposite Deonte Banks or all those pass-rushing additions won’t mean a thing,” he warned.
A troubling development with just two weeks to go before Week 1.
Giants & Jets Beat Reporters Confirm Cornerback Struggles
Hughes wasn’t alone in his observation about the NYG cornerback room. As several other members of the Giants and Jets beat weighed in after practice.
“[Garrett] Wilson torched the Giants secondary, including one play where he was so open that it was difficult to tell which Giants defender was supposed to be covering him,” The Athletic’s Dan Duggan and Charlotte Carroll recapped from the Giants side. “Coverage on Wilson varied between Deonte Banks and McCloud, but Wilson found success regardless.”
“With Flott sidelined, McCloud has taken first-team corner reps opposite Banks,” the pair of journalists continued. “But after getting burned by Wilson, the Giants put in Tre Hawkins for the final two-minute drill period. Banks was targeted repeatedly on the drive, but on the final play of the drill, Jets wide receiver Allen Lazard beat Hawkins for a touchdown.”
From a Jets perspective, colleague Zack Rosenblatt (The Athletic) called it a “great day” for the NYJ offense.
“All in all, I had Rodgers completing 16 of 22 passes with three touchdowns, and Wilson had six catches on eight targets during team drills,” Rosenblatt recounted. “After a completion to Wilson — I believe it was the long touchdown — Rodgers ran over and put an invisible crown on his head.”
New York Daily News beat reporter Pat Leonard was also among the NYC media members who confirmed that “Rodgers and Jets first offense had a ton of success downfield today.”
What Can Giants Do at Cornerback at This Stage of Offseason?
If this were OTAs or minicamp, any fears would be lessened with veteran help still available via free agency or trade. But on August 22, that’s not necessarily the case.
The top cornerback on the market — Stephon Gilmore — just signed with the Giants’ Week 1 opponent and the list of starting-caliber veterans has dwindled since March. At this point, Big Blue’s only likely upgrades in free agency would be Xavien Howard, J.C. Jackson, maybe Patrick Peterson or a reunion with Adoree’ Jackson.
And each of those experienced starters are coming off a down season.
The Giants have also expressed an interest in scouring the waiver wire for cornerback help at the cutdown. But these players hit waivers for a reason — and are generally either younger developmental pieces or washed-up journeymen.
Needless to say, relying on a claim to fill a major role is not recommended and involves plenty of risk. Having said that, the Giants did hit on starting safety Jason Pinnock after plucking him off waivers from the Jets, so Schoen does have somewhat of a track record in this regard.
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