Anthony Rivardo
The Giants spent this offseason dismantling and rebuilding their cornerback room, and Paulson Adebo is the one piece they left untouched. Deonte Banks lost his starting job last season and got buried on the depth chart this spring. Greg Newsome II arrived in free agency, and rookie Colton Hood was drafted in the second round, all while Adebo stayed locked in as the boundary starter on a contract that dwarfs everyone else’s in the group.
That stability comes at a price the Giants are counting on him to earn back. Adebo signed a three-year, $54 million deal in March 2025, and the 2026 season is where the front office needs the investment to look like a bargain rather than a burden.
The Money Makes Him the Fixed Point
Adebo’s three-year, $54 million contract included $34.75 million guaranteed and made him the 14th-highest-paid cornerback in the league when he signed. His 2026 cap charge climbs to roughly $23 million, carrying a $17.25 million base salary that is fully guaranteed, which removes any realistic path to moving on from him this year. He is not a player the Giants can bench or cut without eating the cost, so the roster is built around him whether the grades justify it or not.
The contrast with the rest of the room sharpens the point. The Giants declined Banks’s fifth-year option and let him fall down the depth chart in his contract year. Banks is a trade candidate heading into camp. Newsome is on a one-year prove-it deal, and Hood is a rookie. Adebo is the only corner the Giants have committed real, guaranteed money to, and that alone makes him the anchor.
Paulson Adebo’s 2025 Tape Was Merely Average
PFF graded Adebo at 58.4 overall in 2025, 74th among 114 qualified cornerbacks, with a 57.9 coverage grade that ranked 77th. He allowed a 92.0 passer rating when targeted, surrendered 48 receptions, and finished with just one interception and five pass breakups while adding 64 solo tackles in run support. Those are the numbers of a competent starter, not the shutdown corner a top-15 salary implies.
Set against Newsome, the man lining up across from him, Adebo still grades as the steadier option, which is the case for keeping the room organized around him.
| 2025 PFF (of 114 qualified CBs) | Paulson Adebo | Greg Newsome II |
|---|---|---|
| Overall defensive grade | 58.4 (74th) | 55.4 (85th) |
| Coverage grade | 57.9 (77th) | 56.8 (81st) |
| Interceptions | 1 | 1 |
| Passer rating allowed | 92.0 | 107.2 |
Adebo held quarterbacks to a 92.0 passer rating, more than 15 points lower than Newsome’s 107.2, and graded higher in every category that defines outside coverage. He is the best cover man the Giants have under contract, even if the grade sits closer to league average than to elite.
What New Giants DC Dennard Wilson Needs From Adebo
New defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson inherits a secondary that ranked among the roster’s weak points, and the corners in front of him are unproven or unsettled everywhere except one spot. Wilson built his reputation developing defensive backs in Baltimore, and Adebo, at 26 and on the books through 2027, is the player that reputation gets tested on first. The scheme change gives him a real chance to climb, since a coordinator known for maximizing coverage talent is exactly the variable that could pull his grade back toward his 2023 form in New Orleans.
The Giants have spent two offseasons betting that Adebo is a top-half NFL corner. Newsome, Hood, and a demoted Banks fill in the edges of the room, but the structure only holds if the expensive anchor plays like one. Adebo has the money, the job security, and now a defensive coordinator built to unlock him. The grades have to follow.
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