Giants 2026 Make or Break: Paulson Adebo needs to prove himself as No. 1 corner

Giants training camp is here, with new head coach John Harbaugh taking the team to The Greenbrier in West Virginia.

This will be a "make or break season" for certain Giants, meaning they'll need to step up and show they belong, or else they could be wearing another team's uniform in 2027.

We'll highlight some of those players for Big Blue, continuing with cornerbackPaulson Adebo.

2025 Stats

- 12 games played

- 73 total tackles

- Eight pass breakups, one interception

Why Make or Break?

When the Giants signed Adebo to a three-year, $54 million last offseason, they did so with the hopes that he would be their No. 1, lockdown corner. Afterall, Adebo had three interceptions in just seven games in 2024, and had four picks in 15 games the year before that. At the time of his signing, Adebo looked to be one of the better under-the-radar young corners in the NFL.

But 2025 was a mixed bag for Adebo. A knee injury limited him to just 12 starts, and when he was on the field he was still ranked as just 74th qualified corner in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus.

The biggest reason why 2026 is a make or break year for Adebo is his contract structure. The Giants could potentially get out of his contract after this season and take on a dead cap of roughly 6.3 million. So if Adebo can't step up in 2026, there's a good chance he'll be looking for a new team in the following season.

What will break it?

The Giants cornerback situation, to put it bluntly, is not very good. Greg Newsome was brought in to start opposite Adebo, and Dru Phillips is among the better slot corners in the NFL. But after that, it's a lot of question marks. Second-round pick Colton Hood could provide a spark, but there's still a lot of uncertainty as you get further down the depth chart.

So Adebo needs to be the guy the Giants can rely on to lock down opposing No. 1 receivers. In their division alone, the Giants will have to deal with the likes of CeeDee Lamb, DeVonta Smith, and Terry McLaurin, so they need Adebo to be at the top of his game.

What will make it?

The Giants need Adebo on the field. There's always a bit of luck, or bad luck, involved in players missing time due to injuries, but Adebo obviously needs to play to be able to prove himself.

Cornerback can be a tough position in the NFL. A lot like an offensive linemen, sometimes you only hear corner's names if they commit a penalty or get beat on a big play. So while the Giants don't need Adebo to be among the league-leaders in interceptions, they need him to at least be reliable when it comes to contesting the top receiver on the opposing team.