2021 Safety Prospect Profile- Jevon Holland: Oregon

By: Chip Turner

Jevon Holland – Oregon
 
6’1” – 196 pounds
 
Strengths:
 
Jevon Holland is an excellent and versatile safety who reads and reacts quickly, is fluid in transition, and outstanding ball-tracking. His game isn’t entirely unlike that of Andre Cisco, although Holland is a little more slightly built. He’s a solid tackler, although he’s more likely to have issues with more physical receivers and backs at the next level, unless he can add weight to his frame without losing quickness. Holland’s best trait might be his versatility; his cover skills are good enough for him to be used interchangeably at free safety and slot corner. This is a huge plus in today’s NFL, where dime, quarter and even dollar defenses are being used more frequently. Holland even returned punts for Oregon.

Weaknesses:
 
This will be the first time you’ll read this from me, but it won’t be the last; I believe there will be a bit of recency bias in the upcoming draft. It’s not something that NFL teams will do to punish players who opted out of the 2020 season, it’s just that there’s going to be the lingering question, “what has a player been doing since the end of 2019?” Pro days are great, and Zoom calls can answer some of these questions, but if the choice comes down to two players who are similar, the one with more recent game film will likely be viewed more favorably. This is the case with Jevon Holland, who opted out of the 2020 season.
 
This aside, Holland will also have to get a little bigger and stronger to handle NFL starting WR. He also doesn’t appear extremely athletic; his instincts and ball skills make him appear faster and quicker than he is. This didn’t affect him in college, but it might in the NFL.
 
Projection:
 
I suspect Holland will end up being primarily a slot corner in the NFL, but he’ll play a variety of roles as defenses adapt to more versatile offenses. Despite Holland opting out of 2020, he’ll almost certainly be off the board before the end of day two of the NFL Draft, and might go as high as the mid second round