Twitter New York Giants CB Darnay Holmes became a viral sensation on Sunday.
After spending the past couple days on everyone’s social media feeds, New York Giants cornerback Darnay Holmes addressed his…unusual sideline moment during Sunday’s game against the Green Bay Packers in London.
Holmes sent the following tweet on Tuesday evening:
“Y’all need to chill, the tent wasn’t available [crying laughing emoji]!” Holmes tweeted. “Everyone’s having so much fun with this vid so I decided to team up with [Momento NFT] and turn it into a nft. Gonna give away some signed balls and do some live streams too.”
In the video, which has amassed over 26 million views on Twitter since Sunday, Holmes’ rear end is partially exposed. A member of the Giants training staff appears to be giving him treatment near his hip/upper thigh, but the exact location is obscured due to the camera angle.
This ambiguous visual, of course, created a wild stir on Twitter.
Credit to Holmes for taking his viral moment in stride — and even finding a way to monetize it.
Darnay Holmes Stepping Up in Slot For Giants in 2022
Questionable sideline videos aside, Darnay Holmes has stepped up and played well for the Giants at slot cornerback this year. Defensive coordinator Wink Martindale leans heavily on his defensive backs, so Holmes is seeing more playing time than ever before. Through five games, he has played 64 percent of New York’s defensive snaps. In 2021, he played just 37 percent.
Holmes has held his own in coverage. He has 13 tackles (nine solo), two passes defensed and one forced fumble. According to Pro Football Focus, the former fourth-round draft pick out of UCLA has been targeted 23 times in coverage this year and allowed 13 receptions for 118 yards.
Holmes is playing a valuable role in a resurgent Giants defense. New York’s ninth-ranked scoring defense (18.6 points allowed per game) is a big reason why Big Blue stands at 4-1 heading into Week 6.
Although the Giants are the only team in the NFL without a defensive interception yet this season, they are not an easy team to pass against. They’ve only given up 91 receptions, which is the fewest in the league, and they’re one of only seven teams that have allowed opposing quarterbacks to complete less than 60 percent of their passes in 2022.
Giants Will Lean Heavily on Darnay Holmes Moving Forward
The mystery treatment Darnay Holmes received on Sunday better work because the Giants are going to keep him busy. In fact, that’s the case with all of New York’s defensive backs under Wink Martindale.
Ben Fennell of NFL Network pointed out this unusually heavy usage on Twitter:
Giants Defense played a staggering 13 snaps of 7 DBs last week vs Green Bay… Wow.
That’s more than any team has used 7 DBs this entire season lol
“Giants Defense played a staggering 13 snaps of 7 DBs last week vs Green Bay… Wow,” Fennell tweeted. “That’s more than any team has used 7 DBs this entire season lol.”
Martindale likes to give the green helmet-communication dot to a safety, and this season third-year pro Xavier McKinney is wearing it for the Giants. McKinney has played a safety-linebacker hybrid role at times this year, and they recently brought back former Giants draft pick Landon Collins to contribute in a similar capacity.
Here’s a screenshot of a moment during Sunday’s game where the Giants were using four safeties and zero inside linebackers:
Redzone 4 Safety 0 ILB sets
Under Martindale’s guidance, the Giants will continue to use Holmes and the rest of their defensive backs in creative ways.