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Giants CB Darnay Holmes Ready to Defend Slot Cornerback Job

Darnay Holmes has had to battle for his keep all his life. This year he's facing his toughest challenge yet.

Patricia Traina

Giants CB Darnay Holmes Ready to Defend Slot Cornerback Job
Giants CB Darnay Holmes Ready to Defend Slot Cornerback Job /
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Almost from Day 1, New York Giants cornerback Darnay Holmes has had the odds stacked against him.

Coming from UCLA, where he played 1,820 snaps as a wide cornerback for the Bruins, Holmes, the Giants' fourth-round pick in 2020, was asked to make a position switch inside to the slot cornerback spot, a position he had played just 75 times throughout his collegiate career.

As a rookie, he missed two games due to a knee injury., but in his first two seasons, he played a more disciplined style of ball that saw him not surrender any touchdowns.

Last year, however, the bottom sort of fell out. Holmes gave up one touchdown in coverage, posting a 90.2 coverage rating. After recording just six penalties in his first two seasons, that total jumped to a team-leading nine.

And now Holmes, who, by the way, carries a hefty $2,940,972 cap hit for 2023--not a horrible amount if one considers that the slot cornerback is pretty much as close to being a starter as a regular cornerback--Holmes again faces another challenge, but this one putting his job and roster spot at stake.

The Giants have been experimenting since the spring with different combinations and personnel alignments, and one such alignment that seems to have become a favorite has been lining up Tre Hawkins with Deonte Banks at outside cornerback and moving Adoree' Jackson down into the slot.

Although the Giants aren't expected to roll with this formation on an every-down basis, the point is that Holmes's one large grasp on playing time--last year, he played 55 percent of the defensive reps--could be dwindling.

And if they do indeed dwindle, his nearly $3 million cap hit might become difficult for the Giants, who currently are listed as having $5,176,736 of cap space (fourth-lowest in the league), to justify keeping.

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But as Holmes has shown so many times before, don't count him out of anything. No, Holmes, who is entering his fourth season, hasn't concerned himself with external factors. Instead, he's kept his sights squarely where they belong: on the field, getting better in every facet of his game.

“At the end of the day, I’m just happy to be on the field," he said. "It doesn’t matter where I’m at in the rotation. I play this game because of the love, passion, and competitor within me. I’m just happy I can line it up against some good guys on offense.”

Holmes is the first to admit he's far from a finished product. To that end, he's worked tirelessly on his technique to cut down on his penalties, many of which are the "grabby" kind, and become a better player.

“Truthfully, just being more in tune with my feet, being more in tune with my positioning when it’s time to break at the top of the route," he said when asked what he's been focusing on. "I feel like as – practice nine or 10, I feel like as the practices progressed, I got better with the reps for sure.”

Holmes, who is entering the final year of his rookie deal this season, is expected to get plenty of opportunities this preseason to convince the coaching staff that he still belongs and can be a difference-maker.

“Truthfully, I’ll be a day-to-day guy. At the end of the day, that’s business, but where I’m at now is just fine-tuning, learning from the things we had from the last practice, and staying the course. There’s only so much you can control, and I’m just controlling my physical well-being and my mental state.”

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Patricia Traina
PATRICIA TRAINA

Patricia Traina has covered the New York Giants for 30+ seasons, and her work has appeared in multiple media outlets, including The Athletic, Forbes, Bleacher Report, and the Sports Illustrated media group. As a credentialed New York Giants press corps member, Patricia has also covered five Super Bowls (three featuring the Giants), the annual NFL draft, and the NFL Scouting Combine. She is the author of The Big 50: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants. In addition to her work with New York Giants On SI, Patricia hosts the Locked On Giants podcast. Patricia is also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and the Football Writers Association of America.

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