John Harbaugh’s first offseason in charge of the Giants has already delivered one blunt message after another, and Paulson Adebo just became the latest example.
New York handed Adebo a three-year, $54 million contract last offseason with the idea that he could grow into the team’s long-term CB1, even though he was coming off a broken femur. He stayed mostly healthy, but the production never matched the price tag. Too often, he was fighting it in coverage instead of locking things down.
The hope was that a switch from Shane Bowen to Dennard Wilson at defensive coordinator would help tap into more of what Adebo can do. Instead, Harbaugh’s first Week 1 depth chart told a different story. When the Giants released it on Tuesday afternoon, Adebo was nowhere to be found among the starters.
Instead, New York listed Deonte Banks and Greg Newsome II as the outside cornerbacks, with Dru Phillips in the nickel. That’s a rough spot for Adebo, especially with Banks - a player many thought was on shaky ground with the Giants - now sitting ahead of him.
There’s real significance in that order. It suggests the training camp buzz around Banks may have been more than noise, but it also says plenty about how Harbaugh is viewing Adebo right now. The Giants’ highest-paid defensive back is on the outside looking in, even after the team invested $18 million per year in him.
That makes Adebo tied for the 16th-highest-paid cornerback in the NFL, but Harbaugh doesn’t seem interested in letting salary dictate the lineup. He appears committed to starting whoever has earned it, no matter what the contract says or what the front office spent to get there.
He could have taken the easier route and left Adebo in the starting role, banking on Wilson’s system to bring out better play. Instead, the depth chart puts a player in the final year of his rookie deal and a one-year gamble ahead of him.
Adebo still has time to change the picture once the games count. But for now, being behind Banks and Greg Newsome II is a loud early-season signal about where he stands.
In Other News...
Giants New Pecking Order Is Already Turning Into A Real Camp Story
A fresh training camp approach has already started to show up on the Giants roster, with John Harbaugh and his staff giving opportunities to both familiar faces and players with no prior connection to him. The result is a group being judged less by old ties and more by how they fit what the coaches want, which is exactly the kind of reset that can change the tone of camp before the first full pads practice even settles in.
That shift has kept several key names in the mix, including Kayvon Thibodeaux and Deonte Banks, while also bringing in a few notable changes around the edges of the roster. Veteran lineman Daniel Faalele was dealt away, Najee Harris joined the backfield picture, and the bigger question now is how much this new pecking order will keep evolving once the competition really starts to sharpen. [Read more 🡒]
Giants Week 1 Depth Chart Just Raised Big Questions Before Cowboys
The Giants unofficial Week 1 depth chart offered an early look at how Brian Dabolls staff plans to line up against the Cowboys, and it came with a few notable wrinkles. Deonte Banks is now listed as a starting cornerback next to Greg Newsome II after moving up the chart, while Chauncey Golston is shown as the starting defensive end with Darius Alexander behind him. Cam Skattebo also appears as the starting running back, with several others stacked behind him, giving the backfield a layered look heading into the opener.
One of the more interesting details is what the Giants left off the chart altogether: there is no primary slot receiver listed, a sign they may rotate multiple players through that role. Depth charts this early can still shift before kickoff, but they can also hint at how a coaching staff sees its personnel after camp and the preseason. For a Giants team trying to settle key spots before facing Dallas, the chart raised as many questions as it answered. [Read more 🡒]
Giants Just Answered A Growing Concern On Their Defensive Line
The Giants added some needed experience up front by signing veteran defensive tackle Dean Lowry, a 32-year-old who has spent time with both the Packers and Steelers. He is expected to begin on the practice squad, but the move gives New York another seasoned body in a defensive line group that has been looking for more reliable depth and a steadier presence around the younger tackles.
Lowrys appeal is as much about what he can bring off the field as what he can do on it. The Giants view him as a versatile piece who can help against the run and offer the kind of leadership that can speed up the development of younger players, and in a room that has been under scrutiny, that sort of addition can matter as the season wears on. [Read more 🡒]