Eighth in an 11-part series. Coming tomorrow: cornerbacks.
The Giants did something long ago then broke the mold for the next 42 years.
They selected a pure linebacker, Carl Banks, with the No. 3 overall pick in the 1984 draft. He turned into a two-time Super Bowl champion, was heralded as a member of the league’s 1980s All-Decade team, and his name appears in the franchise’s Ring of Honor. Undeniably, a great pick.
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Since then? Nope. Nada. Zilch. Not one linebacker taken by the Giants in the first round, year after year, draft after draft.
This would seem to be a badge of honor for Banks to wear proudly.
“Not really,’’ Banks told The Post. “It’s noticeable when you look at the play for that position for years. It just wasn’t a priority within the Giants defense. It’s noticeable, the fact they haven’t. I was the last one, and it’s a long time since they’ve had good linebacker play.’’
“I don’t think we can exclude Abdul Carter, because he’s a linebacker, he’s the first since me, in my opinion,’’ he said.
Now hold on there. Carter is listed by the Giants as a defensive end, but in actuality he is an outside linebacker. Carter was the No. 3 overall pick in 2025, and that could lead to all sorts of comparisons with Banks. But Carter is really an edge rusher who occasionally lines up inside. That was not Banks. He and Carter played two different positions.
“I know exactly what you’re saying,’’ Banks said. “A guy that’s a designated linebacker is coming out in this draft, a guy who lines up every down as a linebacker and is multi-faceted, but he’s an every-down linebacker.’’
That guy coming out in this draft is Sonny Styles, and he could be the first true linebacker taken by the Giants in the first round since Mr. Banks.
“I would definitely advocate for them getting a guy like him,’’ Banks said.
There are all sorts of “positional value’’ warnings about taking an off-ball linebacker so high in the draft. To wit: They are not on the field often enough to part with such valuable draft capital. They can be found in later rounds. You invest in edge rushers and cornerbacks, not inside linebackers.
With the Giants, this discussion can go even further. They released Bobby Okereke and signed Tremaine Edmunds to a three-year, $36 million contract. He is a proven eight-year veteran (Bills, Bears) with 900 career tackles, long (6-foot-4) and sturdy (251 pounds) and turns 28 on May 2. He will start, so why is linebacker a spot of need for the Giants?
“Here’s the thing,’’ said Banks — the respected, say-what-he-believes, longtime Giants radio analyst. “We’ve kind of been a microwave mindset with fans and even with some scout type people, everything is so tied to salary cap. Free agency, in my opinion, is now for now, the draft is now for later.
“It’s the reality of football, players get older, and you have an older player who’s still very productive in Edmunds, but for how much longer and will you be looking to upgrade the position in two years? Well, you got it now if you draft Styles.’’
There is also this: Styles and Edmunds will be able to play together, alongside each other. New defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson would unquestionably find a way to make that work.
“I’ll just say this about the draft,’’ Wilson said, when asked directly about Styles. “I like good players, period. I don’t care where they’re at. I’m not going to say no to any good player.’’
So here is the real key to all this: Is Styles worth the No. 5 pick?
“No matter what pick I go, I do believe I can make a difference, whatever that role may look like,” Styles said during an uber-impressive media session at the scouting combine. “Whatever club I get to, figure out what my role is and just be a champion at that role.’’
In four years at Ohio State, Styles played in 53 games, and he missed three tackles. Three. He was the man in the middle of a talent-laden Buckeyes defense, and his physical gifts are extraordinary. At 6-foot-4 and 244 pounds, he put on a show at the combine. He became the first player 230 pounds or heavier since 2003 to run a sub-4.5 40-yard dash, attain a vertical jump of 40-plus inches and a broad jump of 11-plus feet.
He is more than a supreme athlete. Styles is a playmaker on the field, and a leader, modest and mature, off it.
“I want to show that I’m aware of what I need to get better at,” Styles said of meeting with NFL teams. “I want to show them I’m an intelligent football player, and I’m not just a guy that’s just out there running and hitting.’’
Will Styles be John Harbaugh’s first-ever draft pick with the Giants? Harbaugh has repeatedly demanded his 2026 defense must be able to stop the run — the 2025 Giants were 31st in the NFL in that department. Harbaugh was accustomed to stellar inside linebacker play from Ray Lewis, C.J. Mosley and Roquan Smith in his nearly two decades with the Ravens.
“The inside linebacker isn’t always considered a value position, but you can’t stop the run without an inside linebacker making tackles in the middle, right?’’ Harbaugh said. “You can’t do it. So that becomes pretty important.”
Banks sees another big plus when evaluating Styles. His defensive coordinator in 2025 was Matt Patricia, part of the Bill Belichick coaching tree that took root when Belichick was running a Giants defense that featured linebackers — Banks, Lawrence Taylor and Harry Carson — in prominent roles.
“I’m a big Matt Patricia fan, so I knew the way he coached [Styles] to be a complete linebacker,’’ Banks said. “That’s why he is in my opinion the top guy at the position and probably a top five guy coming out, period, just because of his skill set.’’
That is why Sonny Styles, 42 years later, could be the first of his kind for the Giants, since Carl Banks.
