New York Giants cornerback Deonte Banks is seemingly unhappy with where he was drafted in April, and made one of the teams that passed on him pay for it Sunday after the Giants beat the Washington Commanders 31-19.
Banks was the fourth cornerback taken in the 2023 NFL Draft, going 24th overall to the Giants. Ahead of him were Devon Witherspoon to the Seattle Seahawks, Emmanuel Forbes to the Commanders and Christian Gonzalez to the New England Patriots. New York picked up its second win against Washington Sunday, and Banks had words for the Commanders afterward.
“They could’ve came and got me at 16, and they didn’t,” Banks said about the Commanders on Instagram Live after the game. “Now I’m 2-0 against you bum-ass boys. F— the Commanders.”
And while 21 other teams also passed on Banks, including the two others that drafted other cornerbacks instead of him, the Giants rookie has not had the leverage to mock any other team other than Washington, as wins over the Commanders have made up two of the Giants only three wins this season.
As NFC East rivals, the Giants and Commanders play each other twice a year. Things constantly change in the NFL as players are always being moved, but Banks said Washington will see him twice a year for his entire career.
Banks has started every game for the Giants this season, playing 81 percent of the team’s defensive snaps. Forbes, however, has started just three games while playing just 44 percent of Washington’s defensive snaps.
However, Pro Football Focus gives Forbes a grade four points better than Banks. PFF also ranks Forbes 98th out of 109 cornerbacks compared to Banks’s 104.
Washington and New York sit at the bottom of the NFC East, with the Commanders being one game better than New York at 4-7. Neither team will make the playoffs this season, but the Giants can say they swept Washington this season.
There won’t be a clear answer on whether Banks and Forbes is the better cornerback for a little while, but Banks has made it clear he plans to make Washington regret selecting Forbes over him.
Meanwhile, the Giants play one more team that selected a cornerback instead of Banks ahead of his pick at 24 — New England Patriots and Gonzalez next Sunday.