New York Giants: Grading every pick in the 2020 NFL Draft

Round 4, Pick 110: Darnay Holmes, CB, UCLA

Grade: C

One of the issues with this pick is the neglect shown for the wide receiver position. Even after signing cornerback James Bradberry, the New York Giants still needed to address the corner position. They weren’t good on defense against the pass. And grabbing a corner after drafting Xavier McKinney a few picks earlier made sense.

Deandre Baker is still growing into his own and so is Sam Beal. And a team can never have too many corners. Darnay Holmes is another prospect who fits the mold of a Dave Gettleman defensive back.

Holmes is a stout defensive back who excels when playing in a box. He’s 5-10 with short arms who doesn’t have a great tackle radius and will struggle against bigger receivers. Nevertheless, at the line of scrimmage, he has great press technique and a strong punch. Despite his short arms, he’s nasty at the catch point fighting through the receiver for the ball. He has enough quickness and good enough eyes to play in off coverage.

His football IQ can’t be overstated, he understands route combinations and when to pass guys off in off and zone coverage. It also doesn’t hurt that he has excellent ball skills. He’s a willing tackler who plays downhill and will earn a spot on special teams. Patrick Graham comes from New England and you can imagine he’ll dial up some packages that will see Holmes take the field.