Training camp is finally here for the New York Giants, and the 2026 season is right around the corner. Giants fans will get their first real glimpse of this roster on the practice field, in pads, and in preseason games over the coming weeks.

While the offensive storylines are compelling, the defensive side of the ball carries some of the most unresolved questions on the entire roster. From a wide-open cornerback competition to the edge rusher rotation featuring Abdul Carter, Brian Burns, and Kayvon Thibodeaux, there’s plenty to monitor at Giants camp this summer.

The Giants cornerback competition is the most unresolved

The most glaring question on this defense might be who starts at outside cornerback. The Giants signed Paulson Adebo and Greg Newsome in free agency, and both are capable starters with successful seasons on their resumes. Both have also had their ups and downs, which is precisely why the conversation doesn’t end with them.

Colton Hood, the Giants’ second-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, is the wild card who could reshape this competition. The hope should be that Hood is so impressive during camp that it becomes a no-brainer to slot him in as the second starting outside corner midway through camp or the end of it. His development feels central to the Giants taking a defensive leap and building their identity for years to come.

Then there’s Deonte Banks, who remains one of the most fascinating figures on this roster. Multiple insiders covering the Giants have noted that Banks looked better during offseason workouts. The question is whether those flashes are just his athletic traits showing up on the practice field, or if it translates into deeper team settings, preseason games, and real competition. There’s a version of this where Banks builds legitimate buzz and works his way into the rotation. There’s also a version where he falls to fourth on the depth chart and gets relegated to special teams, potentially as a return man.

This is Banks’ last real shot to salvage his career in New York. He either makes noise and starts building momentum toward earning a new contract, or he becomes an afterthought because other players are simply outperforming him. It starts now.

How does the EDGE rotation shake out?

The Giants already provided some glimpses of this during offseason workouts, but training camp is where the edge rotation will start to crystallize. The trio of Burns, Carter, and Thibodeaux gives New York one of the more talented pass-rushing groups in the NFL on paper. The question is how the snaps get distributed.

Is this going to be a relatively even share? Or will Carter and Burns take the heavy load of starts while Thibodeaux operates as a designated third-down pass rusher? The groupings and sub-packages matter here, especially when factoring in linebacker Arvell Reese, who proved to be an effective blitzer at Ohio State last season. 

How the coaching staff deploys Reese in pass-rushing situations could add another layer to an already athletic and explosive front.

As preseason practices progress, the Giants should provide more exposure into just how dangerous this group can be when it comes to getting after the quarterback.

A quietly important Giants player to watch

This might be the most underrated storyline of Giants camp. Last year, defensive tackle Darius Alexander was generating buzz for all the wrong reasons as a rookie. The expectation was that the older prospect would crack the rotation early and show upside as a pass rusher. None of that materialized. He was barely making an impact in preseason games and was, at times, flat-out bad.

However, as the season wore on and Alexander started getting on the field with more regularity, he built confidence and produced some decent disruption as a backup. The flashes of what Giants evaluators saw on film at Toledo started to emerge during a solid finish to the year.

The question now is whether he carries that momentum into camp. I would almost say that if nobody is talking about Alexander during camp, it would be a bit disappointing. His athletic tools should be making life difficult for the Giants’ offensive linemen during one-on-ones and team drills. He’s one of those players whose development could quietly be one of the most important factors in establishing defensive success for New York in 2026.

Hopefully, all three of these storylines break the right way for the Giants, because this defense has the talent to be something special if the young players take the steps everyone is expecting.