2020 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Darnay Holmes





  • Darnay Holmes, 5-10/192

  • Cornerback

  • UCLA


  • Darnay Holmes Scouting Report
    By Charlie Campbell

    Strengths:
  • Above-average athlete
  • Agility
  • Balanced in coverage
  • Above-average short-area change of direction
  • Mirror ability
  • Plus instincts
  • Good route recognition




  • Weaknesses:
  • Undersized
  • Short and light
  • Not fast; lacks speed
  • Tight in the hips
  • Gets beat at the line; jumps initial movement
  • Lacks long speed, struggling to to run with speed receivers
  • Not able to recover
  • Can gets bumped around, out-physical-ed
  • Too handsy with receivers downfield in coverage
  • Struggles to shed blocks
  • Misses tackles
  • Leaves his feet
  • Struggles to shed blocks


  • Summary: Holmes was a solid defensive back for UCLA oer the past three seasons. As a redshirt freshman in 2017, he notched 39 tackles with three picks and three breakups. Holmes then collected 49 tackles with three interceptions and eight passes defended in 2018. In 2019, he totaled 33 tackles with two interceptions and six passes defended on the year.

    Holmes could have transferred or returned to UCLA, but decided to make the move to the next level, and as a redshirt junior, he was allowed to play in the Senior Bowl. In Mobile, Holmes had an impressive week of practice and was very competitive. Team sources called his Senior Bowl performance was better than his college tape.

    On the positive side, Holmes is an above-average athlete with good quickness, agility and balance. He displays above-average short-area change of direction and mirror ability to effectively cover in man. Holmes also has above-average instincts and route recognition.

    On the negative side, Holmes is undersized and a little tight in the hips. He was often beaten at the line from jumping initial movement and has issues in transition. He lacks ideal long speed and is challenged to run with receivers vertically downfield. Holmes struggles to recover once he falls behind. His size hurts him in that he can get bumped and out-physical-ed by bigger receivers. He can get handsy in downfield coverage at times. As a run defender, Holmes struggles to shed blocks and misses quite a few tackles, leaving his feet and failing to wrap up.

    For the NFL, Holmes looks like a backup slot corner. He might get cross-trained at safety because of his instincts, but his lack of size, speed, and tackling ability could make it tough for him to play safety as a pro. Some team sources have him graded as a mid-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.



    Player Comparison: Jourdan Lewis. I think Holmes could be similar to Lewis in the NFL with the exception of Lewis being faster than Holmes. Lewis (5-10, 195) and Holmes are almost identical in size with similar limitations as nickel corners.






    RELATED LINKS:


    2020 NFL Mock Draft: Charlie’s | Walt’s


    2020 NFL Draft Prospect Rankings


    2020 NFL Draft Scouting Reports








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