Is Jevon Holland the Missing Piece to Transform the Giants’ Defense Forever?

So here we are again, watching the New York Giants roll the dice on a safety in free agency, hoping Jevon Holland doesn’t just fill a spot but flips the entire secondary upside down. Remember Jesse Bates and Xavier McKinney? Those guys didn’t just sign big deals—they changed their teams overnight. Now, Holland’s got a hefty three-year, $45.3 million contract on the line, but with a so-so 2024 season in the rearview mirror, the big question remains: Can he bounce back and actually live up to that price tag? Tackling woes and limited splash plays last year put a dent in his stock, yet his youth and flashes of versatility suggest there’s still some serious upside simmering under the surface. With the Giants’ defense crying out for a game-changing presence, Holland’s journey from promising asset to cornerstone could be the shakeup this squad desperately needs—or just another season of ‘what if.’ Buckle up, because this might just be one of the more intriguing storylines of the upcoming NFL season. LEARN MORE

The New York Giants hope Jevon Holland can be next in the line of impact safeties to change a team in free agency. What will Holland bring to a team in need of help in the secondary?

For the third straight year, there was an unquestioned top NFL free agent at safety.

Two years ago, Jesse Bates got a contract with over double the total value and guarantee of any other safety. Ditto for Xavier McKinney last year.

In both cases, the star safeties provided instant payoff for the acquiring team. Bates transformed the Atlanta Falcons’ secondary in his first year with the team, finishing the year with six interceptions and a second-team All-Pro selection. McKinney one-upped that, finishing second in the NFL in interceptions with eight, being named first team All-Pro and even receiving some NFL Defensive Player of the Year votes.

Jevon Holland hopes to provide similar value to the New York Giants after reportedly agreeing to a three-year, $45.3 million deal on Tuesday. But Holland will have to rebound from a mediocre 2024 season if he’s going to live up to his contract.

Tackling Issues

The Miami Dolphins decreased the amount of deep safety Holland was playing dramatically over the past couple of seasons (he lined up as the deep safety in 75.1% of his snaps in 2022 and 62.9% of his snaps in 2024), but it was still by far his most frequent position.

He performed well in coverage on these plays, with a coverage ELO (which measures how effective players are in coverage based on factors including play type) that was well above average. It wasn’t elite, though, which means to be the type of player who merits receiving a big payday, he has to be above average in other areas of his game as well.

One of those areas is tackling. For most of Holland’s career, he’s profiled as an above-average tackler for someone who spends most of the game as the deep safety. He may not have been the best tackler in the league, but he was nowhere near a liability in that department.

That changed last year.

The tape bears this out, as Holland looked much worse trying to finish plays this past season. His lowlight came when he was run over by Deebo Samuel in Week 16. He’s far from the only player to struggle bringing down Samuel, but Holland’s inability to get low on the tackle cost him and highlighted why he struggled all season.

Couple the tackling issues with the lack of plays on the ball (zero interceptions, one forced fumble and four deflected passes) and it’s fair to say Holland had a down year.

Why He’s Still Valuable

Holland’s season last year compared to Justin Simmons both in very good coverage ability and tackling issues. Simmons waited out free agency for a long time before settling on a one-year, $8 million deal with the Falcons, and that was coming over a season in which he was second-team All-Pro.

There are several factors and the biggest is also the most obvious. Simmons was entering his age-31 season last year; Holland will be entering his age-25 season this year.

There are positions where you can live with aging players, but safety usually isn’t one of them. The elite quarterbacks usually age like wine, but a lot of elite safeties age like milk and teams don’t want to be stuck holding the carton on the expiration date.

Holland should still have years of his prime left. He’s also a year further removed from spraining both MCLs, which caused him to miss four games in 2023. Safeties need to be in their best shape to be effective; Holland should be entering 2025. He did miss two games in 2024 due to a broken hand, but that’s not something that will affect him entering this season.

It’s also not fair to evaluate Holland solely on his last season. It’s likely that he just had a down year in terms of tackling. The data from previous seasons would suggest that is the case, and his other three professional seasons suggest he can be an above-average safety.

Can he get to elite status? It’s possible there is some untapped potential for Holland. He’s had to play in four defenses in four years, with Brian Flores running the defense as head coach his first year followed by three different defensive coordinators (Josh Boyer, Vic Fangio and Anthony Weaver). He flashed an ability to rush the passer occasionally in his rookie year and hasn’t been asked to do that since.

With the revolving door of coordinators, Holland has been asked to do things a bit differently every year. He’s acquitted himself well, showing versatility and above-average play. But it’s possible he will grow more rapidly if he has some consistency in his role from year to year.

A Giant Leap

Holland joins a Giants defense desperate to acquire impact players on the back end. New York had plenty of talent on the front four last year after acquiring Brian Burns, but the team’s inability to cover didn’t give the pass rush enough time to get home in most situations.

New York hopes Holland can be a major factor this year in coverage, and use his versatility to confuse quarterbacks. As of now, it looks like he’ll start alongside 2024 second-round pick Tyler Nubin, who also played both safety spots as a rookie. The flexibility both players bring could be a boon to a defense in need of some unpredictability.

Ultimately, Holland was one of the best free agents on the market this year when factoring his age, play and potential to grow. If he can prove his tackling issues were a fluke and that he’s still not a finished product, Holland can live up to this lofty deal.

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