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When New York Giants safety Jevon Holland arrived at the team facilities in East Rutherford this week for the start of the team OTAs, it likely hit him that he is now one of the oldest faces in what will be a very young defensive secondary in 2025.
That doesn't mean he feels he is deserving of all the benefits that come with such status just yet. At the “ripe” age of 25 years old, Holland, who signed with the Giants in free agency after spending his first four seasons as a pro in Miami, is the only member of the position group with at least four years of experience under his belt.
During that time, he quickly ascended to a leadership role for the Dolphins, also becoming one of their most active ballhawks in his second and third NFL seasons.
Now, he is walking into a room with several players who are either rookies or those just coming off their debut campaigns and who could be turning to him for mentorship and a blueprint that can only be developed through grinding at the highest level of football.
For Holland, while he has somewhat earned a few of his stripes before joining the Giants this season, isn't coming in expecting his new teammates to kiss up to him or pay him the attention an average veteran could demand from his younger counterparts.
The new face in the deep field recognized himself as just that and wanted to earn any niche that befalls him with the team.
"It is about establishment," Holland said regarding taking on the title of a leader in the defensive huddle.
"I mean, I have to earn the respect of my teammates. I'm new, so they don't owe me anything, but yeah, I have to earn respect, and then from there, the chips fall where they may,” he said Wednesday after the team completed its second OTA.
“I'm just here to make sure that they respect me, they respect my game, and they can rely on me."
That game for Holland that impressed the Giants enough to recruit him from the open market to bolster their secondary has been built upon being a good communicator and having a strong nose for the football.
In his short but strong to-date career, the Oregon product has been one of the Dolphins' highest turnover creators, notching 10 total turnovers dating back to 2021. It has also proven to be an efficient run-stopper, grading at a 73.4 run defense rating last season.
The pairing with the Giants was deemed a strong one among the many moves made by general manager Joe Schoen, who placed a strong focus on the defensive side of the ball, which figures to be the franchise's bread and butter in their hopes of competing in the 2025 season.
Holland is another aggressive safety who isn't afraid to get involved and put his teammates in the right spots to win the play, especially in a system he mentioned was a "comfortable" one for him.
Two pieces in the Giants' locker room who could look to lean on the veteran's knowledge in further molding that system are fellow safety Tyler Nubin and cornerback Deonte Banks, two players with opposite stories in their first years in New York.
Nubin was on pace for a stellar debut before an injury derailed his rookie campaign, while Banks, the team's 2023 first-rounder, has seen his struggles as a de facto No. 1 cornerback in coverage.
Holland certainly won't shy away from the honor of guiding his teammates on the path to becoming improved defenders as they face the challenges that lie ahead in the season.
However, he continues to check his ego at the door and remind himself that he is still a fresh face on a similar playing field, trying to figure it out just as much as they are.
With these first offseason sessions underway, Holland has already learned a lot about the young players and what they can bring to the table while forging early chemistry with the rest of the Giants' revamped defense.
"Yeah, I had no idea who [Tyler Nubin] was, besides obviously word of mouth and watching his game both beforehand," Holland said about his fellow safety.
"He's a [heck] of a player and a great kid as well. I say 'kid' like I'm old, but he's a really good kid, though. He really is, and he's got great things ahead of him, and I'm here to help him bring that out."
While the newcomer figures out how to best reestablish his presence and voice in the huddle this year, he has been indirectly learning from numerous elders in and around the organization what it means to be a successful leader.
That starts with inside linebacker Bobby Okereke, whom Holland truly sees as the control man on the defensive side, and extends to various great Giants alums that the coaching staff has brought to the facilities to speak to the current players.
Famous heroes such as former defensive end Justin Tuck and two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback Eli Manning have both been there before, taking a once-beleaguered franchise and returning it to the pinnacle of football with their voices, skill sets, and dedication to the field, every day of their careers.
Those people are shining examples of the standard of Giants football that has been missing for some time and that players like Holland are eager to bring back to MetLife Stadium in the upcoming months.
The connection between the franchise's past successes and present aspirations is what will hopefully offer the right tools and build continuity in and around the roster for years to come.
However, for that to happen, a new collection of confident and determined faces must step up and maintain the standard. Holland is among the short list of individuals who have that opportunity.
Even if he considers himself unfit for the job, he realizes his positional responsibility alone should entice him to accept it, and he is ready to embrace it as he fully becomes a New York Giant and steers the defense back into a dominant group this season.
"That's just the job of a safety. It's just to make sure everybody's – cause I'm behind everybody so I can see – so I'm just putting everybody in place. If that is considered a leadership position, then that's considered a leadership position, but that's just the description of what the job is."
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