Every single NFL team says that they want to build through the draft, and the New York Giants are no different. Drafting starting caliber players is a good start, but that also means retaining your players once they’re eligible for free agency.
This year, the Giants had to watch four starting caliber players from the 2022 draft walk out the door for big contracts elsewhere in 2026. The Giants would have preferred to keep Wan’Dale Robinson, Cor’Dale Flott, Daniel Bellinger, and Dane Belton, but that
just wasn’t in the cards.
NFL teams always have difficult decisions to make in the off-season, and there will always be players they want to keep who leave due to cost or the numbers game. Losing those players is now in the past, and the Giants now have to keep their sights set on building for the future, and they players in their building now.
So which of the three biggest names among the players on their rookie contracts do you think is most likely to earn a second contract from the Giants?
EDGE Kayvon Thibodeaux – Despite being just 25 years old, Thibodeaux is among the longest-tenured Giants on the roster. He hasn’t quite managed to live up to being the fifth overall pick, but was on a similar pace as Michael Strahan prior to 2025. Thibodeaux has struggled with injuries over the last two years and has seen his sack performance fall off from 11.5 under Wink Martindale in 2023 to just 7.5 in two years under Shane Bowen. Even so, Thibodeaux is versatile enough to play in space or on the line of scrimmage, has a penchant for generating big plays, and is the Giants’ best run defending edge player.
Can he finally put it all together in his fifth season and have a monster year? And if so, would that price him out of the Giants plans, as happened with Robinson and Flott?
CB Deonte Banks – Banks flashed “number one” corner ability as a rookie and even in his second year (notably, against D.K. Metcalf with vs. the Seahawks, and George Pickens against the Steelers). However, he simply did not adapt well to both Shane Bowen’s defense and the loss of Jerome Henderson. He excels at playing tight, sticky coverage, but struggled when the margin for error disappears at the catch point.
There are a bunch of potential reasons why, but the bottom line is that Banks has simply not lived up to being a first round pick. He’s getting another chance with John Harbaugh, Dennard Wilson, Donald D’Alesio, and Addison Lynch, and has reportedly performed well in this spring’s roster battle for the first over the spring.
Even if Banks isn’t able to earn a second contract as a starting corner, he has emerged as a very good kick returner, which is of growing importance with the NFL’s new kickoff rules, as well as John Harbaugh’s appreciation for Special Teams.
OC John Michael Schmitz – Schmitz is the safest of the three. He didn’t initially play up to expectations as one of the top two centers in the 2023 NFL Draft, but he has improved each season as a pro. Schmitz is now a solid starting center, who has done a good job of smoothing out the rough spots in his game while still showing flashes of untapped upside. The hope is that the presence of Sisi Mauigoa will help Schmitz better play to his strengths as a blocker and be the player the Giants have always hoped he could become.
Schmitz also plays the least-expensive position of these three players. While center is absolutely important to the functioning of the offensive line, it doesn’t command the same kind of premium on the open market as edge defenders or cornerbacks.
The Giants obviously hope that each player takes a step forward this year and becomes a core piece of their roster for years to come. But as we’ve seen, what the Giants hope happens and what actually comes to pass aren’t often the same thing. Players don’t always live up to expectations or hopes, and they might price themselves out of the team’s budget if they exceed expectations.
So Giants fans, which of these Giants do you think is most likely to earn a second contract with their play in 2026 and be a Giant in 2027?
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