STRONG POINTS

Holmes is a very good athlete with the playing speed, elusiveness and explosiveness to make big plays running with the ball in the open field. He has very good vision and instincts running with the ball, follows blockers well and has an explosive burst through the hole and the speed to take plays the distance. He runs very smooth routes and has a good burst out of cuts to get separatiuon and uses his body well to shield cornerbacks from the ball. He has the hands, body control and coordination to reach out and catch the ball away from his body and can adjust to make the tough catch easily.

WEAKNESSES

Holmes is a little thinner than ideal for his height and it limits his strength to break tackles. He does not protect the ball well -- he carries it very loosely and will be a fumbler in the NFL if he does not improve how he carries ball. He makes bad decisions fielding punts and does not consistently field kickoffs well because he tries to body catch the kickoff while on the run. He tends to lose focus occasionally, and it leads to him running nonchalant routes, body catch some easy passes and drop some passes he should catch easily.

POSITIONAL FACTORS

Grade Category Comments/Description 7.0 Hands He has outstanding hands to make great catches seem easy -- he plucks ball away from his body easily. 6.0 Initial Quickness He gets off the ball and into his route quickly, but is not explosive off the ball. 6.0 Clean Release He gets off the ball and into his route quickly, accelerates to full speed fast and can close the cushion quickly. 6.0 Release vs. Jam His quick feet and agility help him to consistently avoid the jam and release off the line of scrimmage quickly. 6.5 Patterns He runs very sharp routes and consistently bursts out of cuts to get separation -- sells fakes very well. 6.5 Adjusts to Ball He adjusts to off-target passes surprisingly well -- he plucks the ball with his hands and catches low passes easily. 6.5 Run after Catch He is an explosive runner in the open field with the elusiveness and agility to make big plays. 6.5 Deep Threat He has play speed to get downfield and has the burst to get separation and make plays deep. 6.5 Hand/Eye Coordination His very good hand/eye coordination combines with his hands to let him make great grabs consistently. 6.0 Blocking While not a physically dominant blocker, he gets after his man, stays after the block and eliminates his man. 6.0 Return Ability He's a very dangerous returner (punt and kickoff), but he needs to field punts more consistently and smarter. 4.5 Fumbles/Error He carries the ball loosely and fumbles and makes some bad decisions fielding punts/kickoffs.

ATHLETIC ABILITY	Section Grade: 6.5
Holmes is a very good athlete which has helped him to consistently make big plays as a receiver and returner. He has very quick feet to accelerate to full speed fast and, once he gets to full speed, he can run by cornerbacks to get a step of separation on deep routes. His athleticism helps him to run smooth and fluid routes and he has the burst to get out of cuts and get separation consistently. His agility and balance combined with his strength allows him to keep his feet vs. low arm/grab tackles and hard hits. His agility and quick feet help him change directions fast so he can make tacklers miss running after the catch. He has very good hands and his coordination and body control help him to make the tough catch on off-target throws.
Q.A.B. Quick Feet C.O.D. Flexibility Coordination 6.5 6.5 6.5 6.5 6.5

COMPETITIVENESS	Section Grade: 6.0
Holmes is a tough football player who has consistently stayed in the lineup and has caught passes in traffic right before getting hit and always held onto the ball. He has proven himself to be a consistently clutch receiver at Ohio State -- he always gets a first down on third down passes and made big returns in key situations to keep Ohio State from getting pinned deep in their own territory. He has been consistently productive at Ohio State -- even though no receiver catches a ton of passes, he consistently caught the ball very well. His hands and body control help him to adjust and make tough catches. At times, he runs nonchalant routes and body catches easy passes which leads to an occasional drop. He runs very sharp and crisp routes and consistently has shown the ability to burst out of cuts to get separation. He is a good runner in the open field -- follows blockers well, has burst through cracks/holes and has big-play playing speed. He has shown his committment to the team by continuing to return punts and kickoffs even though he was the No. 1 receiver and could have asked off of those duties. He shows pride in his play by consistently running hard with the ball, but he does not always run routes with a sense of urgency and does not take pride in his protection of the ball as he carries it surprisingly loose.
Toughness Clutch Play Production Consistency Team Player Pride/Quit 6.0 6.5 6.0 6.0 6.5 6.0

MENTAL ALERTNESS	Section Grade: 6.0
Holmes is a smart receiver who clearly has learned from his coaches well -- he runs very sharp, crisp routes and sells fakes well, uses his hands well to beat the jam and does a good job of adjusting his route when the quarterback gets flushed from the pocket. He has good instincts which help him to get open well vs. zone coverage and to make plays running after the catch ,and while he has quickness off the ball, he does not explode off the ball into his route. His ability to maintain his concentration is what allows him to consistently reach out and make tough catches -- catches the over-the-shoulder pass with a cornerback trying to climb over his back remarkably well.
Learn/Retain Instincts/Reactions Concentration 6.5 6.0 6.0

STRENGTH/EXPLOSION	Section Grade: 5.5
Holmes has adequate size for a receiver, but on film actually looks smaller than his measured size -- he's surprisingly thin looking. Despite being thinner than ideal, he has proven himself to be a durable receiver and returner and he can be a durable NFL player. He is a very explosive player running with the ball in the open field -- shoots through the hole/crack and has home run speed. He does not, however, explode off the ball into his route. He has surprisngly good play strength for his build, and it helps him keep his feet vs. hard hits and he can run through arm/grab tackles, but he is not strong enough to break tackles consistently.
Body Type Durability Explosion Play Strength 5.0 6.0 6.0 5.5