The New York Giants have a few players that could quickly become trade candidates this season. At 2-6 on the year and last place in the NFC East, their playoff chances are fading away, and they could sell high at the deadline on some intriguing players to get back draft capital to continue their rebuild.
Giants’ Deonte Banks could draw interest in the trade market
A player that could get brought up in trade conversations is second-year cornerback Deonte Banks, who the Giants took with their late first-round pick in 2023. After a strong rookie campaign, Banks’ play has taken a massive step back this season and a recent dilemma surrounding his effort level has hurt the Giants significantly in an already weak secondary.
Andrew Falce of Fansided and Still Curtain recently named the Pittsburgh Steelers as a potential landing spot for Banks should he get dealt at the deadline. The two teams faced each other Monday night, where the Steelers came out on top by a score of 26-18.
“The Steelers keep few secrets during the draft process, and one of the cornerbacks that they showed a lot of interest in was Banks,” the article read. “…Given his struggles, I wouldn’t send anything significant. Either a seventh-round pick or a late-round pick swap. Ideally, he gets a fresh start and rebounds before his career ends. If not, you don’t give up much so what you are risking isn’t that valuable. He makes too much sense with the trade deadline coming up for the NFL.”
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Banks has struggled mightily this season
It has been a rough second NFL season for Banks. He has allowed a 65% completion rate on his targets in coverage and hasn’t recorded a pass breakup since Week 5. Monday night against the Steelers was the peak of his misfortunes, as he was benched after 27 defensive snaps for a lack of effort. He finished the game with no tackles (two missed tackles) and Greg Stroman Jr. played the rest of the game at the cornerback position.
The effort issues have become paramount in recent weeks and have happened on more than one occasion this season. Giants head coach Brian Daboll has yet to commit to Banks as the starter for Week 9 against the Washington Commanders.
“I’m not going to make any declarations right now,” Daboll said (h/t ESPN’s Jordan Raanan).
The issue indicates that maybe a change of scenery will benefit Banks, as there is clearly something going on internally that is preventing him from playing at his highest level. As of now, it is unclear if the Giants view Banks as a tradeable asset, but with the deadline on the horizon, it will be worth watching to see if he generates interest on the market.
