There’s a lot of good that comes from landing on an NFL team when you’re a young player who’s surrounded by veteran talent who can mentor you as you take the 1st steps in your career.
There’s also a lot of good that comes from throwing caution to the wind and stealing someone’s job the 1st time you get a chance.
New York Giants rookie cornerback and 2026 2nd-round pick Colton Hood might be smart to try and pull off the latter, and the 1st day of training camp revealed that opportunity might be waiting.
“Cornerback Deonte Banks dropped an interception when backup quarterback Jameis Winston and Fields weren’t on the same page on a pass along the sideline,” The Athletic’s Dan Duggan wrote on July 29. “Banks had tight coverage to force an incompletion on a curl route by wide receiver Xavier Gipson. Paulson Adebo and Greg Newsome entered camp as the top two corners, but the door is open for Banks and rookie Colton Hood to push for a starting job.”
That’s a generous telling of Banks’ prospects — the 2023 1st-round pick was the full-time starter for his 1st 2 seasons before being benched early in 2025.
For Hood, though, the future is wide open.
‘Bully’ Colton Hood Might Be Plug-and-Play Starter
Hood, 6-foot and 193 pounds, had a wild 3 seasons of playing college football.
The McDonough, Georgia, native was originally committed to Michigan State but flipped to Auburn, where he played his freshman season in 2023.
He transferred to Colorado, where he played in 2024 under head coach Deion Sanders and opposite Heisman Trophy-winning cornerback/wide receiver Travis Hunter, then transferred again for his final season at Tennessee, where he earned All-SEC honors in 2025.
Hood impressed at the NFL Scouting Combine with a 4.44-second 40-yard dash, 40.5-inch vertical leap and 10-foot-5 broad jump to convince the Giants to take him with the 37th overall pick.
NFL Draft analyst Lance Zierlein had Hood projected as a 1st-round pick.
“Press-man bully with an ability to put his stamp on the first and last phases of the snap,” Zierlein wrote in his pre-draft evaluation. “Hood plays with a disruptive punch and gets his hands on most releases, but shifty NFL wideouts could create issues for him … Hood needs to sharpen his instincts/technique, but he has the mentality and upside to become a CB2 in a press-heavy scheme.”
Hood is certainly getting paid like a 1st-round pick — he signed a 4-year, $12.8 million rookie contract.
Giants Made Puzzling Decision With 1st-Round Pick
The Giants could have made all of this a moot point had they used either of their 1st-round picks at No. 5 and No. 10 overall on a defensive back. Instead, they selected Ohio State off-ball linebacker/edge rusher Arvell Reese at No. 5 and Miami offensive tackle Francis Mauigoa.
Drafting either LSU cornerback Mansoor Delane (No. 6 overall to the Kansas City Chiefs) or Ohio State safety Caleb Downs (No. 11 overall to the Dallas Cowboys) seems like it would have been a more prudent choice — especially because the Giants already had 3 former 1st-round picks on the roster at edge rusher with Abdul Carter, Brian Burns, and Kayvon Thibodeaux.
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