Getting to Know Jevon Holland

By: Hussam Patel

It only took 2 years for the Dolphins to draft the player that Minkah Fitzpatrick was supposed to be. Jevon Holland might be the guy that fits in Brian Flores’s mosaic in terms of his play style.

JEVON HOLLAND is coming to MIAMI!

? NFL Draft on NFLN pic.twitter.com/DoZznaiWcN

— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) April 30, 2021

I detailed it in my pre-draft scouting report, and was impressed by his tape. Initially I questioned why the Dolphins took Holland when Trevon Moehrig, the #1 safety on my board, wasn’t selected first, as according to reports Miami wanted a center field safety.
 
Then, I took a look at what Miami actually needed at the safety position schematically, and came away with this thread on Holland:

From Thinking Football on YouTube

Full video and breakdown: https://t.co/HtlGb2q3Hy

This is just a little snippet of @HollywoodVon Playmaking and Ball skills as a slot corner who can also play deep safety

He’s able to recover on his miscues because of his vision and lose hips pic.twitter.com/YnjW3Rcj6N

— PhinManiacs (@PhinManiacs) May 1, 2021

With the Dolphins secondary already being great at ball skills and coverage, Holland is an added bonus. What Holland really does well is contribute to run support and play downhill in the box at stopping the run. He can be the Patrick Chung of this defense.
 
Let's take a look at Holland’s Measurables:
 

• Position: Safety
• School: Oregon
• Height: 6’0 5/8″
• Weight: 207 pounds
• Wingspan: 76 ⅝ ‘
• Arm: 31 ½ ‘
• Hand: 9 ⅛ ‘

One of our followers pointed this out @TVill24

Physically Holland is pretty similar to Minkah Fitzpatrick- Jevon Holland can do the things Minkah can do, Play safety, box and Slot

Don’t rule out 3 safety sets with Jones Holland and Rowe

Numbers from @nfldraftscout https://t.co/6szKLlDShv pic.twitter.com/QKJSYOrZ4S

— PhinManiacs (@PhinManiacs) May 6, 2021

At first glance, he looks eerily similar to Minkah Fitzpatrick.
 
From Mario Cristobal on Jevon Holland: “He is a large ballhawk. He is a guy that played the nickel position. A safety body type that could jump out there and play corner, play man-to-man coverage, run the alley as a safety, drop back as a punt returner and create explosive plays. Instinctive, explosive, tough, physical, a student of the game."

It’s not hard to see why Coach Flores said Jevon Holland was one of his favorite players to watch on tape. Outstanding cover skills, instinctive as all get out and he lives to stick his face in the fan against the run. pic.twitter.com/iCK2jJoc6V

— Travis Wingfield (@WingfieldNFL) May 1, 2021

“Teams that we played against, as we watched film around the country, I didn’t see anyone better at his position than him. I expect him to go extremely high and do extremely well right away," said Cristobal.
 
In 2018, Holland primarily played at Safety and perPFF's Ryan Smith and put up a 59.9 coverage grade with 26 completions on 43 targets, while only giving up 325 yards, two touchdowns and hauling down five interceptions. 
 
Furthermore in 2019, when Holland played most of his snaps at slot corner, he notched a 68.5 coverage rating while allowing 45 completions on 72 targets for 487 yards, two touchdowns and four picks.

Jevon Holland is gonna be a scary sight in the Gardens @HollywoodVon @MaurielloJoey bringing the heat on this TikTok

How excited are you for Hollywood Von in Miami? pic.twitter.com/XMtUGhKFAw

— PhinManiacs (@PhinManiacs) May 10, 2021

Head coach Brian Flores said after day two of the draft that Holland has leadership qualities and that he “has the ability to communicate and quarterback a defense because he’s smart.”
 
Holland is a perfect fit for the Dolphins defense and head coach Brian Flores, as he is one of the most versatile defensive backs in this draft class; he has the toughness and athleticism to play the nickel or free safety, as well as the speed and coverage skills to play as a slot corner. 
 
Certainly he will help out in the passing game, and he offers a much more natural presence in the run game - he's over 200 pounds and was in run fits for almost 500 snaps near the line of scrimmage and as a box safety. 

Coach says scouting Jevon Holland was done off the 2019 tape and the team liked what they saw from that film.

— Travis Wingfield (@WingfieldNFL) June 16, 2021

He’s got plenty of tape (Oregon & Stanford, 2019) that showcases he’s comfortable navigating traffic in the box and sniffing out the ball carrier. He had 4.5 sacks in his electric freshman season, and tallied 5 picks. Holland looks to be the shiny penny in Miami’s secondary.