Let’s go straight to the pre-draft comment on Banks….
“CB Deonte Banks Round 2 value. Might be R1 this year but not last year. COMP: Jason Sehorn.”
In the 2023 Draft, Banks is going Round 1, so not an overdraft this year. Considering that Banks, Branch and Porter were all available when Jacksonville was on the clock at 1.24 made the move to trade up (costing a R5 and R7) a little dubious. The cost is not a lot. Yet we preferred taking EDGE Nolan Smith, as we believe that Smith would change the team. Smith fell because he had a pec injury. Upper body injuries do not bother our draft analyst.
“Banks is a very very good player,” says Wonder. “It is disappointing the Gmen did not take Smith but they got themselves a solid Cornerback. Banks has speed and he is an athlete. His ceiling is very good but unlikely to be awesome.” If Banks is very good that will be plenty for the Giants. CB was a need. The pick was solid on that merit alone.
Wonder still urges both the Jets and Giants to move up and get Smith. “I would have upgraded the outlook this season immediately if the Giants had taken Smith.” Updating the post, the Eagles took Smith at 1.30. I hope he is not a thorn in the Giants side. Note how the Eagles took both Dean (last year) and Smith when each fell. Both had upper body injuries (pec). As a draft analyst, Wonder is less concerned with upper body injuries. Apparently the Eagles aren’t either.
The Giants got a Cornerback. That is good. At least they did not take a smurf WR like half of Giants Nation wanted. Wink Martindale is happy. If the Giants can pick up a Center or a Guard in Round 2 tomorrow, it will round out their roster very well. I don’t put the odds of either Schmitz or Tippmann being there at 2.57, but hopefully one of them is. There are going to be some good Guards there too.
One last thing. We saw these draft cams drop into every front office’s draft war room. Isn’t it amazing how there are 32 celebrations and sets of smiles?! Don’t be fooled. Many teams will part ways with these players. It’s merely a reminder of the CERTAINTY of the uncertainty of the draft.