The biggest question regarding the New York Giants heading into 2026 has been whether their defense can rise above its dismal performances in 2024 and 2025.
It was a bit of a surprise when the Giants hired former Tennessee Titans defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson when names like Jim Leonard or Wink Martindale were being bandied about. However, Wilson is both familiar with the “Ravens” style of defense and has a history of producing excellent secondaries.
One of the prime concerns regarding the Giants’
roster was their defensive secondary. In particular, those on the outside were concerned about the cornerback position opposite Paulson Adebo. It was widely expected that Greg Newsome II would be the starting corner opposite Adebo, with rookie Colton Hood rotating in and eventually supplanting him.
Instead, the Giants have rotated their starting corners with Adebo, Newsome, Deonte Banks, and Hood all getting reps with the starters.
“Right now, I see a bunch of young men trying to get better,” Wilson said. “Every day they’re going out there and they’re competing against our offense. You’ve seen them in the games that we had in the preseason and in the preseason practice. They’re coming out there and trying to detail their work. Right now, everybody’s fighting to play, and I like where they’re all at.”
One of the biggest surprises of camp has been that not only has Tae Banks gotten starting reps, he’s done well enough to be a consistent starter and bump Adebo down to more of a second team role. Banks was widely dismissed as a draft bust coming into the off-season, but has played with a level of confidence and physicality that we haven’t consistently seen since his rookie season.
“I think he just has belief in himself right now,” Wilson said. “He [Banks] has a good group of DB coaches in that room that believe in him. The players believe in him, and he’s playing with confidence. He’s out there, he’s making the plays he’s supposed to make. He’s detailed on his assignments, being where he’s supposed to be, and that’s giving him an opportunity to make plays. As long as he keeps doing that, he’ll continue to get better.”
“I think it’s a combination of everything,” Wilson continued, when asked what’s changed for Banks. “Just like anybody in life, if you believe in somebody and you have a group of people believing in a player, or if you have your own kids and you believe in your kids, they come out more inspired. It’s a little bit of that, and he’s taking the personal pride to play better, to be better on the field, to be more consistent. It’s a little bit of both, but I give the kudos to the young man. He’s really doing a great job of just trying to be the best version of himself.”
Banks’ athletic ability has never been in question, and he has consistently produced tight coverage when allowed to play to his strengths. If the coaches now have him playing with the confidence and physicality to be the best version of himself, that could be a very good player.
In addition to ‘confidence’, the other watchwords in Wilson’s remarks were ‘consistency’, ‘versatility’, and ‘accountability’. In fact, ‘accountability’ was the first word Wilson used to describe new MIKE linebacker Tremaine Edmunds.
“He holds everybody accountable,” Wilson said.
He’s vocal on the field. He brings a toughness, and he also brings a calmness to the defense. He’s a very intelligent player. He can make all the adjustments, and then when he lines up and plays, he runs and hits. Everything that he does in a pass game is good for us. He takes over the middle of the field because of height and size and instincts. We’re glad we have him, and we love that he’s here.”
The combination of Edmunds and Arvell Reese could be a very interesting linebacker duo for the Giants. Likewise, Wilson also complemented the rise of versatile defensive lineman Chauncey Golston, who is pushing for a starting job in front of those linebackers.
“For us, we look at our defense as positionless,” Wilson said. “The more you can do, the more opportunities you get to play. And Chauncey’s a very consistent player. He plays with great technique and detail, and you see it every day. Chauncey’s just like some of the other guys; we can move him around and put him in different spots.”
Wilson taking the time to mention Edmunds’ ability in coverage and Golston’s versatility along the defensive front gives us a glimpse into Wilson’s defensive philosophy.
He’s already mentioned being positionless, which implies that the defense will use versatile players to change looks on the fly. Not only does that create opportunities to scheme pressure, it allows the defense to dictate to the offense. Likewise, in mentioning Edmunds’ ability in coverage, it tells us a couple things about where the Giants are expecting to be attacked.
There has been a recent trend for offenses to use play-action passes to attack the intermediate and middle areas of the field. That’s a departure from earlier eras of offensive football in which play-action fakes were used to set up deep passes.
That’s one of the reasons why big safety hybrids, like Seattle’s Nick Emmanwori, have become such valuable assets.
Wilson suggests that the presence of Edmunds and rookie WILL Arvell Reese can have a similar impact for the Giants. That also suggests that the structure of the Giants’ coverage shells will be designed to take away deep shots, leading to offenses trying to find explosives in the middle of the field, rather than against the secondary.
“Some of the play-action passes, it’s hard for quarterbacks to throw it over top of them, especially when their eyes are right,” Wilson said, talking about Reese and Edmunds. “When they get their depth, they’re long. They’re big guys. So, it just clogs their windows. Both of them are very athletic in their zone drops. They do a great job of matching and taking windows away, and then ultimately, they have the athleticism to break on the ball. They have a unique trait or unique skillset, and it’s good for the New York Giants.”
