NFL Personnel Director Claims NY Giants Safety Jevon Holland 'Drastically' Regressed

We’re still in that time of year where unnamed league sources are still offering opinions about players, particularly those who might have scored big in this past year’s free-agency period.

One such example is New York Giants safety Jevon Holland. Holland signed a three-year, $45.3 million contract this past offseason, which translates to $15.1 million per annum. While the APY matches the market value Spotrac had for him, their deal was based on a four-year, $60.57 million deal for the former Dolphins safety.

That kind of deal appears to be too rich for an unnamed NFL personnel director, who shared his opinion with ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler in a piece ranking the top safeties league-wide ahead of training camp.

"I still love the skill set, but he drastically regressed last year, which was shocking to see from a young player in a contract year," the unnamed executive said.  

But did he really, or did Holland’s “regression” come about thanks to how he was deployed in the Dolphins defense? In 15 games, Holland posted a career low 62 total tackles. 

He also had two tackles for loss and two quarterback hits, the second-lowest totals in each category in his career, all of this despite playing in 91% of the Dolphins’ defensive snaps last season, the second-highest total he’s played in since 2022, his second season.

Holland has played in three different defensive systems since entering the league in 2021. The first was primarily run by then-head coach Brian Flores, whose defensive coordinator in 2021, Holland’s best season to date, and 2022 was Josh Boyer. 

In 2023, Vic Fangio had a one-and-done stint with the Dolphins, who went 11-6 that season, their best record in franchise history. And then last year, Anthony Weaver came in as the Dolphins' defensive coordinator.

But here’s the thing about Holland. Each defensive coordinator he played for with Miami had different ideas on how to deploy him. For instance, under Flores-BOyer, Holland blitzed a career-high 51 times, registering career highs in pressures (eight) and sacks (2.5).

But in the last two seasons, his coverage ratings have vastly improved, dropping to under 100 in each campaign, while his blitzing in 2024 picked up a bit (17 times) with not as much to show for it.

The point is that there are multiple reasons why Holland’s production might not have been good enough for Fowler’s source, some of which are beyond his control. 

Perhaps with Shane Bowen now as his defensive coordinator, Holland will look more like the player he was as a rookie when he earned All-Rookie Team Honors.

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