Giants Country

Giants Safety Jevon Holland: The Good, The Great, and The Ugly

We examine new Giants safety Jevon Holland's game to see where he excels and where he might struggle.

Gene Clemons

Oct 27, 2024; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Miami Dolphins safety Jevon Holland (8) enters the field before the game against the Arizona Cardinals at Hard Rock Stadium.
Oct 27, 2024; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Miami Dolphins safety Jevon Holland (8) enters the field before the game against the Arizona Cardinals at Hard Rock Stadium. / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
In this story:

A year after letting safety Xavier McKinney walk away in free agency, the New York Giants realized their error, and signed former Miami Dolphins safety Jevon Holland, who was named to the 2021 PFWA All-Rookie Team. 

The Giants’ defensive secondary lacked coverage ability and playmaking last season after being one of the best playmaking secondaries the year before. Of the Giants’ five defensive interceptions, four of those were by defensive backs, and not one player had more than one all season long. 

Holland will upgrade what defensive coordinator Shane Bowen is able to do in the secondary. During his time in Miami, the defensive coordinators he played under began using him in positions that did not take full advantage of his best attribute. 

In New York, he should have the chance to return to the third level, where he has flashed such promise and produced quality performances in the past.

The Good: Blitzing

While nobody is going to mistake Holland for Kyle Hamilton as a blitzer, Holland does a really good job of blitzing when he is asked to do it.

His best season as a blitzer, according to NFL Pro, came in 2021 in Brian Flores’s system. That year, Holland blitzed a career-high 10.9%,  generating a 25.8% quarterback pressure rating and a 4.0% sack rate (career high 2.5 sacks that season).

One of the most underrated aspects of blitzing is timing. He does a great job of timing up his blitz to stress the blocker as much as possible. 

He is usually moving forward before the snap which means when the play starts he already has forward momentum which puts the blocker at an immediate disadvantage. 

He then uses his athleticism and quick twitch explosiveness to beat blockers off the line of scrimmage or get by them before they have a chance to get a hand on him. 

Even if they get a hand on him, it is usually a reaching out, and he is able to blast past the blocker. This works well if he comes off the edge or blitzes through a gap. It is likely not what he will be asked to do in New York regularly, but it is good to know he has the ability if needed.

safety Jevon Holland, new york giants
Sep 8, 2024; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Miami Dolphins safety Jevon Holland (8) runs onto the field before the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Hard Rock Stadium. / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

The Great: Athleticism at the Third Level

A deep-half or single-high safety is where Holland shines the most. This is where he shows his athleticism the most. He has range. As a hash safety he gets to the sideline to break up deep fades or corner routes as well as break on over routes and post routes in the deep middle. 

He is also great when he can backpedal, diagnose the intermediate routes and drive on the ball when the quarterback throws it. He explodes off the drop step and attacks through the receiver to the football. 

This is where so many of his pass breakups and interceptions come from. His athleticism allows him to close down the distance between him and the receiver extremely quickly. 

This is tailor made for defenses that utilize zone coverage because of his ranginess. You can not float passes against Holland; if you do, he is picking it off or disrupting it. You also cannot throw dig routes or over routes in front of Holland; if you do he is picking it off or disrupting it. 

The Giants are banking on his range at the third level to allow the cornerbacks to play more aggressively and likely take more chances.

The Ugly: Physical Play

Holland has never been a big physical safety. That does not mean that he will not tackle, but it has been a point of contention for many of his detractors for years. 

Some blame it on his slight frame–he stands 6-foot-1 and weighs just over 200 pounds. Whatever it is, he just does not bring the adequate lead in his pencil necessary, either by frame or attitude, to really be a demonstrative physical force. 

In 2024, he was used more towards the line of scrimmage and it was his worst statistical season as a pro. He had career lows in tackles, interceptions and passes defensed. 

It could be argued that he was being played out of position and that his better nature is to be a third-level safety. Most of his tackles are him diving at legs which leads to missed tackles and some bad angles. 

Coach’s Counsel

The Giants need Holland to come in and be who he is at the core, which is a coverage safety. 

Too often, players get consumed with trying to be good at everything and they forget to be special at one thing–we all do it in our regular jobs that are not on TV every Sunday to be critiqued. 

That is what happened to him this past season. He was being pulled in too many directions as a player and was not able to keep the main thing the main thing. 

The Giants should embrace Holland as a coverage guy. In zone, he should be on a hash in a two-high set, and in the middle of the field on one-high coverages. 

The only time he should be on the first- or second-level is when he is playing man or blitzing, and that should not be much. 

By simplifying his role, you can give him less to think about which means he can spend more time just reacting and letting his athleticism show. 

Holland just turned 25 years old. His prime years are staring him in the face. The Giants should be the beneficiaries.

Latest New York Giants Free Agency Coverage

New York Giants On SI Social Media

Published
Gene Clemons
GENE CLEMONS

Gene "Coach" Clemons has been involved with the game of football for 30 years as a player, coach, evaluator, and journalist.  Clemons has spent time writing for the Worcester Telegram and Gazette, Bridgton News, Urbana Daily Citizen, Macon Telegraph and footballgameplan.com.  He has a YouTube channel called "Coach Gene Clemons" where you can find his popular "X&O The Joes" series as well as other football related content. 

Home/Big Blue+