Preview, prediction, what to watch for in Week 5

An inside look at Sunday’s Giants-Saints NFL Week 5 matchup in New Orleans:

Marquee matchup

Giants defensive front vs. Saints offensive line

It is easy to spot how the Saints prioritize their draft resources.

They have four first-round picks and one second-round pick starting on their offensive line, though right guard Cesar Ruiz (first round, 2020) is out with a high ankle sprain.

The Giants have four first-rounders on their defensive line: Dexter Lawrence, Kayvon Thibodeaux, Abdul Carter and Brian Burns (with the Panthers).

This group pressured Justin Herbert 20 times last week. Carter as a rookie is coming on strong.

Four downs

Chip away: Jaxson Dart says he has a chip on his shoulder because the Saints did not select him with the No. 9-overall pick in the draft — they went with Kelvin Banks, their starting left tackle. Dart went No. 25 after the Giants traded back up into the first round.

“He’s a really good player,’’ Saints first-year head coach Kellen Moore said of Dart. “He had a phenomenal [college] career. He was a really impressive player at Ole Miss. When we went through this process we spent a lot of time with him. He’s a great kid, he’s going to be a really good quarterback in this league. For him to come out, win his first game, use his legs in some situations, he’s a really talented player. He’s going to be a much better player this week than he was last week.’’

Take it to the Banks: Deonte Banks is not getting a full load on defense — he played 29 of the 63 snaps last week (Cor’Dale Flott had 44) — but he was unveiled as a kickoff returner, as the spot alongside top return man Gunner Olszewski continues to rotate.

Banks, a 2023 first-round pick who has not lived up to that lofty draft status, averaged 27 yards on the first two returns of his NFL career. He had only one in 30 games in college at Maryland. Why him and why now?

“Tae is obviously a gifted athlete,’’ special teams coordinator Michael Ghobrial said. “He has the elite top-end speed. He has the frame that you’d want in a returner, and he showed us that he has good ball skills. He was fired up to do it, and there’s also something to be said about a player that genuinely wants to be back there and do it.’’

Big run that got away: In three of the first four games, the Giants’ run defense was gashed for at least one chunk play: Jacory Croskey-Merritt (42 yards), Javonte Williams (30-yard touchdown) and Omarion Hampton (54-yard touchdown).

“With these big ones, it’s usually more than one culprit, right?’’ defensive coordinator Shane Bowen said. “So just making sure we’re there where we’re supposed to be, ready to make it. We can manage the 10-yarders, 12-yarders. But when you give up the big ones, man, those are tough to come back from.’’

The Saints’ longest runs this season are two 18 yard gains, one each by Alvin Kamara and Kendre Miller.

Rattle the cage: Did Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler provide the Giants with some motivation or was he just telling the truth when he said this about the defense he is about to face?

“It’s a really good front, probably one of the best in the league,’’ Rattler said. “We’ve got to have a good plan for them, a lot of speed, a lot of power. On the back end, they don’t do as much as what we’ve seen from these other teams, disguise-wise, but they got wrinkles and everything. They run what they do well and they cause some havoc for quarterbacks and offenses.’’

Rattler, a fifth-round pick in 2024, is 0-10 as an NFL starter.

Paul’s pick

Unless Cam Skattebo and Devin Singletary bust loose — they haven’t yet — it is difficult to envision the Giants piling points on the board sans Malik Nabers. Is the surge we saw on defense in Week 4 going to be replicated in the Big Easy?

And can the Giants actually make anything look easy? Probably not. Let’s see what Jaxson Dart does for an encore.

Giants 17, Saints 13