For a few minutes Thursday night, it looked like Maryland cornerback Deonte Banks might stay local for his first NFL job. But after the Ravens passed on the Baltimore native with the No. 22 overall pick, he didn’t have to wait long. Nor is he going far.
The New York Giants drafted Banks with the No. 24 pick, adding the Edgewood graduate to a defense overseen by former Ravens coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale. Banks will join a pass defense that allowed just 213.5 passing yards per game last season, 13th best in the NFL.
Banks was the fourth cornerback taken Thursday night, following Illinois’ Devon Witherspoon (No. 5 overall, Seattle Seahawks), Mississippi State’s Emmanuel Forbes (No. 16, Washington Commanders) and Oregon’s Christian Gonzalez (No. 17, New England Patriots).
Banks, who missed most of the 2021 season with a shoulder injury, allowed just 258 yards and a 43.3% completion rate when targeted last year at Maryland, according to Pro Football Focus. He’s among the freakiest defensive back prospects to ever enter the draft, ranking in the 98th percentile among corners in the broad jump, in the 97th percentile in the vertical jump and in the 89th percentile in the 40-yard dash (4.35 seconds).
