Next challenge in NY Giants rookie Deonte Banks' best on best quest: Eagles' A.J. Brown

EAST RUTHERFORD — Deonte Banks has given up plays this season, and the rookie cornerback for the New York Giants refuses to hide from that.

He also has yet to back down from a challenge, one that will likely continue on Christmas Day in Philadelphia with a coverage assignment against Eagles star A.J. Brown.

And just as he did opposite D.K Metcalf, Jaylen Waddle and Stefon Diggs and twice against Terry McLaurin, among others, Banks will go into the showdown with the confidence that he will more than hold his own.

"You beat me, good on you," Banks told NorthJersey.com this past week. "Next play, let's go. My turn. Feel me? I love to compete, and I've seen the best of the best my first year. It's fun and I'm going to keep getting better."

Banks, 22, has been solid all season, and he has been fueled by his competition against the best. Those battles have produced wins and losses on the field, and how Banks has responded down to down is most impressive.

In what has been a lost season in the standings, Banks' presence and the growth in his game from the outset has been an encouraging bright spot.

"I just think he's everything you want in a corner," Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale said earlier this season of Banks, who the Giants traded up one spot to make sure they got on draft night at No. 24, fearing that the Chiefs or the Raiders were looking to jump them in a deal with Jacksonville to get him.

Banks has a compact frame (6-foot, 197 pounds) with above-average length, and his short-area quickness is elite. He's physical and instinctive, too. Banks' story here, like it or not, comes with the added theme of having to overcome the draft busts of corners Eli Apple (No. 10 overall, 2016) and DeAndre Baker (No. 30 overall, 2019).

Neither finished out his rookie contract with the Giants, Baker is currently out of the league, and Apple, now in Miami after finding a home the last two seasons in Cincinnati, has not lived up to the expectations of a Top 10 pick. Last season's success of the Jets' Sauce Gardner shattered what had been a league myth turned reality: rookie corners tend to struggle to overcome what has historically been a steep learning curve.

Gardner wound up winning Defensive Rookie of the Year honors and was the first rookie corner to be named to the AP All-Pro team in 40 years.

In the Giants' victory over the Packers two weeks ago on "Monday Night Football," Banks had his best game as a pro. He showed tremendous physicality and tenacity on the boundary, registering a career-high 12 tackles and answering the bell after Martindale threw the gauntlet at his feet in the days leading up to the game.

Banks also made an incredible play on a potential touchdown pass to Packers wide receiver Samori Toure, swatting the football away and incomplete with his left hand.

"He is just growing and growing and growing every week as a corner and starting to see things faster than what he has seen before," Martindale said of Banks, who leads the Giants with 11 passes defensed. "You're starting to see that in his play. I love the fact that he had 12 tackles [against the Packers], because I challenged him all week on making some tackles. I said, 'You're going to keep getting tested out there until you start tackling people.' So, I thought he stepped up and played really well."

Banks has started all 14 games for the Giants, and he has played all but one defensive snap in the past four games. He expects Brown to test his coverage with physical play, seeing how the former Maryland star can handle his 6-foot-1, 226-pound frame.

The Giants (5-9) have lost 10 consecutive games at Lincoln Financial Field, and Banks raised his eyebrows when told of the circumstances Big Blue has faced down in Philadelphia. The Eagles (10-4) have not exactly doled out Brotherly Love to their NFC East rivals from 90 minutes up the road on the turnpike.

What is Banks expecting when he walks into the Linc for the first time? Mayhem - and a lot of himself.

"I'm sure it's going to be wild, and I'm ready," Banks said. "I've heard the stories [about playing at the Linc], but I wouldn't say I'm intimidated by anything. Competition isn't something I'm scared of. I love to compete, and if you're going to compete, go out and compete against the best. That's how you become the best player you can be. I'm about now and the future. The past is the past, and we have a great opportunity to win a football game. Let's try to go win it."

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Next up in Giants rookie Deonte Banks' best on best quest: A.J. Brown