Giants sign Paulson Adebo in NFL free agency to fill major need

The Giants addressed their biggest need on defense as NFL free agency kicked off on Monday, agreeing to terms with cornerback Paulson Adebo, The Post confirmed.

Finding someone to start alongside disappointing 2023 first-round pick Deonte Banks was at the top of the Giants’ defensive needs list.

Adebo, 25, spent his first four NFL seasons with the Saints, starting 51 of the 52 games he appeared in.

Here is a big part of the Giants’ attraction to this player: Adebo has 10 career interceptions. He is considered a ball-hawk and that was a glaring missing ingredient last season.

They set an inglorious NFL record by going 11 consecutive games without an interception and finished with only five of them.

Only the Browns, with four, had fewer interceptions than the Giants.

No Giants player had more than one interception last season. Adebo had three interceptions in just seven games in 2024.

Adebo will sign a three-year deal worth up to $54 million, with $36 million in guaranteed money — a contract that falls in line just behind the three-year, $60 million deals veteran cornerbacks Carlton Davis, 28, received from the Patriots and Chavarius Ward, 28, got from the Colts.

3 The Giants are signing cornerback Paulson Adebo in NFL free agency. Getty Images

Adebo’s 2024 season was cut short after seven games when he broke his femur in a loss to the Broncos.

He recently posted videos on his social media platforms showing him moving and cutting in agility drills and doing a backflip, evidence he has fully recovered from the broken leg.

Adebo is considered to be an aggressive, in-your-face man-to-man defender and it will be up to defensive coordinator Shane Bowen to incorporate Adebo’s skills into the defensive scheme.

Adebo also has the desired size (6-foot-1, 192 pounds) to thrive on the perimeter.

His age also makes him a player entering his prime, someone the Giants can build around, along with Dexter Lawrence and Brian Burns up front.

In the past 22 games, Adebo ranked first in the league in forced incompletions (29) and fourth in interceptions (seven), according to Pro Football Focus.

3 Paulson Adebo played his first four NFL seasons with the Saints. Getty Images

In 2023, Adebo led the NFL in forced interception rate and he was credited with 18 passes defensed, third highest in the league.

Abebo was a 2021 third-round draft pick out of Stanford, where he was a teammate of Giants inside linebacker Bobby Okereke.

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The Giants have Cor’Dale Flott entering his fourth year as an outside cornerback.

They were quite pleased with the play of rookie Dru Phillips, their third-round pick, as Phillips secured a role as the slot corner.

Banks endured a rough second season, in terms of performance and, at times, effort, and his lack of development was one reason why head coach Brian Daboll fired cornerbacks coach and defensive passing game coordinator Jerome Henderson.

Continuing to fortify their defense, the Giants added a veteran defensive tackle into the mix, signing Roy Robertson-Harris to a two-year, $9 million deal.

Harris, 31, is an eight-year NFL veteran, arriving in the league as an undrafted free agent in 2017.

3 Paulson Adebo suffered a season-ending leg injury during a Saints game against the Broncos on Oct. 17, 2024. Getty Images

He spent his first four seasons with the Bears, moved onto the Jaguars and was traded to the Seahawks during the 2024 season. He has played in 117 games, with 62 starts, and has 19 career sacks.

The 6-foot-5, 290-pound Robertson-Harris is not a big-bodied interior defensive lineman.

The Giants have one of those in 342-pound Lawrence and were looking to add to the position. The Seahawks last week released Robertson-Harris.

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