If anything, the Giants seem to be getting further away from naming two starting outside cornerbacks as the regular season nears.
The competition is alive and well among Greg Newsome II, Deonte Banks and Paulson Adebo as they rotate with the first-team defense, while rookie Colton Hood is back to knocking on the door after missing most of last week with an injury.
“They’re trying to detail their work,” defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson said. “Right now, everybody’s fighting to play, and I like where they’re all at.”
Wilson wouldn’t say if he wants to give starters the bulk of snaps or if he is open to a series-by-series cornerback rotation like the Giants used early last season.
“Everything hasn’t been finalized,” Wilson said.
Banks is the biggest surprise in the group. The Giants bent the unwritten rules of fair competition to get the struggling Banks on the field with Cor’Dale Flott and Adebo last season.
“He just has belief in himself right now,” Wilson said. “He has a good group of DB coaches in that room that believe in him. The players believe in him.”
The emergence of versatile Chauncey Golston — a disappointment in his first season as a free agent signing — as a backup edge and possible starting defensive lineman gives the Giants some roster flexibility ahead of cuts.
“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.”
Braxton Berrios’ grasp on the returner job strengthened with the potentially season-ending injury to Calvin Austin III.
Berrios is a former All-Pro returner who still has juice after recovering from a torn ACL.
“In the return game, it starts with just fielding the ball, right?” special teams coordinator Chris Horton said. “That’s the most important thing. He’s a clean catcher. That’s first and foremost. And anything we get after that is a plus. He can still run. He can still make guys miss.”
