Earlier this offseason, it appeared the Giants were prepared to try Cor’Dale Flott as a perimeter corner, despite his experience coming from the slot. A change to that approach has taken place, which could affect more than just the second-year pro.
Flott shared first-team snaps at the slot corner position with Darnay Holmes during spring practices, as detailed by Dan Duggan of The Athletic. The up-and-down nature of the latter’s career to date has seen him play between 37% and 59% of defensive snaps across his three years in the league, the majority of which have come in the slot.
The former fourth-rounder’s clearest path to retaining the starting slot role likely would have been Flott earning a full-time gig as a boundary corner. The fact that he is slated to once again play on the inside, however, could leave Holmes in danger of failing to make the roster at his current cost. Entering the final year of his rookie contract, the UCLA product is set to carry a cap hit of $2.9M this season, and the Giants (who hold the fourth-least cap space at the moment) would see $2.7M in savings by cutting or trading him.
In light of that, along with the fact that he was drafted by the current front office led by GM Joe Schoen, Duggan names Flott as the likely favorite to win out the starting role on the inside. The third-rounder made 11 appearances (six starts) as a rookie, totaling 26 tackles, two pass breakups and a forced fumble. An expanded workload could yield an uptick in production, something which would in turn help a Giants secondary which ranked middle of the pack against the pass in 2022.
Training camp and the preseason will, of course, offer a clearer outlook of the Giants’ plans with Flott and Holmes. Given the financial downside to retaining the latter, it will be worth watching how the team continues to split usage rates between the two heading into their final roster decisions.
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