Darnay Holmes was the first addition the Atlanta Falcons made to their cornerback room this summer, but nobody bat an eye when he was signed. For a good chunk of the offseason, it wasn't even clear if the Falcons would even have room for him, but all of those doubts have been quelled.
Everything in training camp has gone Holmes' way, as not only is he cementing himself as a roster lock--he may be staring down a starting role. We're late enough into camp that guys are making late pushes for starting jobs and roster spots--and he's pushing for the CB3 job.
While going over takeaways from Monday's practice, ESPN's Marc Raimondi's update on Holmes seems to be the smoking gun. He revealed that he once again worked out of the nickel with the first-team defense, and in a surprise twist, it's starting to become clear that he's the favorite for the job.
"CB Darnay Holmes played nickel with the 1s and seems to be the frontunner for that role," Raimondi revealed.
Darnay Holmes is the frontrunner in the Falcons' nickel competition
If you told me at the start of the summer that the 28-year-old would be starting over Avieon Terrell in Week 1, I would call you nuts. This was a guy the Falcons drafted in the second round of the 2026 Draft and is the younger brother of their star CB, yet he failed to fend off a veteran journeyman? Wow.
To be fair, Darnay Holmes has been helped by a lack of competition, but that doesn't change the inevitable. Terrell just returned from a hamstring injury, while last year's nickel Billy Bowman Jr. is still rehabbing his Achilles tear--and looks primed to start the year on IR and miss the first month of 2026.
This is a guy who has made just 12 career starts, and only three of those have come in the last four seasons. The fact the former fourth-round pick has any merit to start is impressive enough--even if his main competition is AJ Woods and Mike Ford Jr. He should be beating out both of those players.
It remains to be seen how long the UCLA product will hold onto the starting role once both Terrell and Bowman are healthy, but the former was pushed him with a good day on Tuesday. And it's particularly telling that the Falcons opted to run with Holmes at nickel over experimenting with Sydney Brown.
Avieon Terrell is back in 11-on-11 work today. A great sign ahead of the season for the rookie corner. Was out there with the first-team defense just now in the slot.
— Will McFadden (@willmcfadden) August 25, 2026
Compared to many of the other names in the cornerback room, Darnay Holmes isn't nearly as much of a household name, so the fact he's the favorite in the CB3 competition over names like Terrell and Brown is a bit of a surprise--but not all surprises are bad.
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