The New York Giants entered the 2023 NFL draft with a clear need at the cornerback position — not just ahead of the 2023 season but looking years down the road.
In Round 1, they selected Maryland’s Deonte Banks to line up alongside Adoree’ Jackson but they weren’t done there. With the 209th overall pick in Round 6, they selected Tre Hawkins III out of Old Dominion.
Hawkins was one of the Giants’ top-30 visits, visiting East Rutherford in early April.
The 6-foot-3, 195-pound Hawkins has good size and was solidly productive in 2022, recording 60 tackles, two interceptions, and six passes defensed over 12 games.
Here’s what Dane Brugler of The Athletic had to say about Hawkins:
A decorated athlete (football and track) at Temple High. He finished his senior season with 60 tackles and two interceptions. He was forced to go the juco route out of high school and played two seasons at Trinity Valley Community in east Texas. He signed with Old Dominion in the 2020 recruiting class, but that season was wiped out because of the pandemic. Hawkins started all 25 games the past two seasons and made noticeable improvements as a senior (his penalties dropped from six to only one in 2022). He has a tall, long and limber body type with the gather-and-go skills to quickly transition vertically and stay attached to receivers. His long speed is impressive, but his average lateral agility will put him in recovery mode and shows up as a tackler. Overall, Hawkins will get clingy and needs to improve his play recognition, but he passes the eye test with flying colors and has the athletic profile NFL teams will want to develop.
Hawkins will provide the Giants developmental depth at one of their thinnest positions.
