New York Giants 2024 UFA Primer: CB Darnay Holmes
Darnay Holmes, Cornerback
Height: 5-foot-10
Weight: 195 lbs.
Age: 25
NFL Exp.: 4 Years
College: UCLA
The New York Giants have been developing some good young talent in their defensive secondary as they shift gears towards the 2024 season. For corners like Darnay Holmes, who’ve been around the block but seen a decrease in their role, that could mean a parting gift of a chance to test the free agent market.
A 25-year-old who played his college ball at UCLA, Holmes was selected 110th overall by the Giants in the 2022 NFL Draft and was chosen to help flank the secondary that needed reinforcements. He played three seasons with the Bruins and was a starter from his freshman year until he declared for the pros with a resume of 120 tackles, eight interceptions, and two touchdowns.
In his rookie season, Holmes made his official greeting to the NFL in Week 13 when he made an interception to help the Giants seal a 17-12 road upset of the Seattle Seahawks. The Calabasas native played in 12 games that fall, posting 30 total tackles, 0.5 sacks, a forced fumble, and five pass deflections, along with an interception.
The 2021 season was a limited one for Holmes after he suffered a rib injury and missed six games in the year's second half. He returned in 2022 and had a career campaign with 15 games played, 38 total tackles, one forced fumble and eight pass deflections.
Holmes also played a part in the special teams department during the 2021 season, returning five kickoffs for 97 yards and a long of 23 yards. He only saw one punt return attempt in 2022, but it was unsuccessful at gaining ground for the Giants.
Now, he faces the possibility of being a free agent for the first time since entering the league. He could look for a larger role somewhere else as the Giants’ secondary is filled by their recent draft selections, who have been producing at a higher level for the defense.
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2023 Recap
Darnay Holmes’ production hit its lowest in the 16 games he suited up for the Giants this past season. He made 18 tackles (17 solo), one forced fumble, two interceptions, and three pass deflections, the only improvement coming on the two pickoffs.
The corner’s best performances of the season came in Weeks 10 and 11 when he made a season-high six tackles, one interception, and one pass deflection against the Cowboys and then followed it up with four tackles, a second pick, and one pass deflection against the Commanders. Holmes’s second outing was critical in helping the Giants secure a road win that gave them a bit of a spark in a season that had started so dismally.
With his fourth season in blue over, Holmes holds a career stat line of 54 games played, 115 tackles (89 solos), 0.5 sacks, two forced fumbles with one recovery, four interceptions, and 18 pass deflections. His two interceptions this season put him in the top 45 cornerbacks in the league, but the overall performance was the third lowest by a member of the Giant's secondary.
Per PFF, Holmes also had the lowest number of snaps in his professional tenure, with 123 total, 77 of which came in coverage and 44 in run defense. His coverage and tackling improved in the former scheme as he allowed just 12 receptions for 165 yards, 88 yards after contact, and a missed tackle rate of 8.3%.
Why the Giants Should Re-sign Him
Despite his defensive contributions dwindling last season, the Giants could use Darnay Holmes as a special teams asset in both the kick and punt return and coverage units.
Holmes may have seen his lowest participation at the cornerback spot with New York in 2023, but his reps in special teams coverage hit their peak and nearly doubled what he had two seasons earlier. He took 194 snaps, with 50 in kickoff coverage and 87 in punt coverage, and added five tackles for one of his most efficient campaigns in that phase.
Holmes also lined up for the field goal-blocking team 11 times throughout the season and helped establish pressure along the edge. He had 12 games with at least ten snaps on special teams and was most active in Week 8 against the Jets with 23 total snaps, mostly in punt coverage.
With Holmes struggling to find a place in the secondary behind teammates like Adoree Jackson, Deonte Banks, Tre Hawkins III, and Cor’Dale Flott, the Giants found him a home in Thomas McGaughey’s squad, and it helped him work on his defensive fundamentals at the same time. The fourth-year corner had four missed tackles under his watch for the lowest in that span, and only one in defensive coverage for an 8.3% rate.
Special teams has been a concern for the Giants in recent seasons, and changes are already being made in the aftermath of the 2023 season to find the coaching and pieces that will make it thrive. If the Giants see him as that, they could resign Holmes for secondary depth but primarily as an incumbent coverage man on kickoffs and punts.
Why the Giants Shouldn’t Re-sign Him
It’s hard to ignore that the Giants are distancing themselves from Darnay Holmes regarding his declining action on the defensive side of the football. Yet, if you look at his numbers from his tenure with the franchise, you will find that the cornerback hasn’t always been the same impact player when he earned significant time in the secondary.
While the total snaps and tackles he garnered were strong in his first three campaigns, the rest of Holmes’s stats in terms of pressures and coverage have fluctuated in different directions. In the 2020 season, the 25-year-old was fairly active in the backfield when sent on blitzes around the edge, posting a sack, two hits, two hurries, and nine stops at the line of scrimmage.
On the other hand, he struggled with tackling by holding a career-high 20.5% missed tackle rate and allowed a stunning 78.8% opposing reception rate on 52 targets that gave up 406 yards and an average catch of 9.9 yards. Holmes was among the most penalized corners on the roster, with five infringements from his misguided playmaking.
In the following two seasons that saw 282 and 572 total snaps, respectively, Holmes became more or less engaged in the backfield, had a missed tackle rate between 7.4 and 11.1%, allowed 64 receptions on 96 targets for an opposing reception rate of at least 65.2% and 676 yards. That means he allowed an average catch of 10.5 yards, which is around his career average, and on top of it, Holmes has given up 233 yards after contact in two seasons when his tackling was poorer.
Perhaps these are all reasons why the Giants slowly filtered Holmes out of the defensive workload during the 2023 season. Still, it is a sure sign that the team may need to look elsewhere for ballhawks that can produce consistently and not be a coverage liability that doomed other franchises they faced in the past year. It seems like they already have that in some of his teammates who stepped in, made big plays, and outshined expectations for their campaigns, but it’s about having that insurance should injuries take their toll like they seem to do every season for New York.
Keep or Move On?
Holmes was a fourth-round gamble by the Giants when they needed to find answers to the defensive secondary bracing for a rebuild and impending turnover in 2020. The wide-eyed youngster came in, got involved right away, and improved the cornerback position with his endzone defense and turnover prowess, which was a staple at UCLA.
However, there were other deficiencies he has had dating back to the collegiate field that simply hasn’t gone away enough for the Giants to trust him with a heavy role in the secondary. Add on top of that the talent they’ve since unearthed in Deonte Banks, Tre Hawkins III, and a few others who have grown into their roles, and the franchise has relied on Holmes less as the years have gone by, and that is not a good sign for his future in the Big Apple.
The most likely outcome with Holmes is seeing him take his selective talents elsewhere as the Giants get comfortable with their players. They may take a flier on another prospect in the draft this April, but it would be surprising if Holmes is back and active on more than a special teams basis.
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