Darnay

Holmes

Holmes saw the majority of his reps on special teams in 2023 but still made a few high-impact plays on defense. He picked off two passes and forced one fumble while only playing 123 defensive snaps. Holmes logged 194 snaps on special teams. He will return for a similar role in 2024.

As teams trim their rosters to 53 men by Tuesday, Holmes’ status with the Giants appears to be safe. The fourth-year vet has appeared in 38 games since entering the league in 2020, which includes 11 starts. He appeared on a career-high 572 defensive snaps last season per PFF, earning a coverage grade of 49.5.

Holmes got injured making a play on a screen pass thrown by Nick Foles. He got up slow but was able to walk off the field under his own power. He has returned to action.

Holmes has played in the slot on 88% of his defensive snaps this season after being selected in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft. His absence comes at a bad time with Jarvis Landry visiting. The Giants also placed CB James Bradberry on the COVID-19 list earlier this week.

Holmes has been one of the bigger risers at Giants camp. He’s locked in a top-three role and may be the favorite to start outside. With DeAndre Baker on the Exempt List and Ross Cockrell backing out of his deal, the Giants are counting on Holmes to play a major role.

The former No. 1 cornerback recruit in the country upon graduating from Calabasas High School, Holmes (5'10"/195) handpicked and started in 33-of-35 career games across three seasons as an outside corner for the hometown Bruins. Holmes’ stubby arms (29 1/2", third-shortest among this year’s class) match his shorter stature, likely causing coaches to pigeonhole him into the slot at the next level. His straight-line speed requires no such discussion as his collegiate highlight reel includes matching speedsters Marquise ‘Hollywood’ Brown and Laviska Shenault (among others) stride-for-stride up the seam. He’s also a shoe-in for special teams after averaging 23.1 yards per kickoff return (38/878/1) at UCLA. Holmes’ lacking strength and tendency to gamble on double-moves won’t win him any favors among his next coaching staff, but he’ll be hard to take off the field given his versatility at the position.