Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
‘Mature beyond his years’
Rookie safety Holland developing rapidly
MIAMI GARDENS — Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores generally shies away from showering players with too much praise, especially young ones that can have it go to their head.
He pivoted from that approach this week when asked about versatile rookie safety Jevon Holland, giving him a rousing endorsement of “mature beyond his years,” which probably is also the reason why he felt comfortable lauding him.
“He’s very much so a professional,” said Flores, after Holland had another standout game, recording five tackles, a sack, another quarterback hit and two pass deflections against the Baltimore Ravens on Nov. 11.
“From an intangibles standpoint, he’s got a lot of things we’re looking for. You combine that with his athletic ability, his ability to do multiple things. If he keeps up with the way he prepares, the way he practices, the way he is intentional about getting better, he’s going to be ok in this league.”
That maturity Holland has brought to his game was established off the field while growing up between his early years in Canada — as the son of former CFL player John Robert Holland — and then moving to Oakland before arriving at Oregon to play his college ball.
“I would have to say it’s my parents, really, giving me leeway to grow up, take care of my sister and drive her to school,” Holland said. “Little things like that kind of pushed me forward to grow up quicker than I am. Then, having my brother — he’s four years older than me. He’s close in age, close enough to where I can learn from him and his mistakes and the things that he does good and then far enough where I can correct them myself or avoid something.”
Holland has put it all together
with 38 tackles, two sacks, an interception and five pass deflections in 10 games, including seven starts, in his rookie season entering Sunday’s game at the New York Jets.
“Far better than what my expectations were,” said Holland who was taken with the No. 36 pick, an early second-round selection in April’s draft.
He went from starting off as a rotational backup in a foursafety mix that included secondyear player Brandon Jones and veterans Eric Rowe and Jason McCourty, to a situation now where the Dolphins can’t take him off the field. In the win against Baltimore, he and Jones were in on every defensive snap, while Rowe still played 60 percent of plays in various packages. McCourty is out for the season with a foot injury.
“It’s just kind of a product of Jevon knowing and understanding the system better,” defensive coordinator Josh Boyer said, “and I think utilizing his athletic ability. And he’s a real physical and instinctive kid.”
That versatility of Holland and Jones led to an effective, blitzheavy game plan to curtail electric Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson. The two combined for 38 blitzes, according to Next Gen Stats, the most by defensive backs in a game since at least 2015.
Blitzing is not something Holland did much at Oregon. Already with two sacks through 10 NFL games, he never had one in college. The genesis of his ability to rush the passer actually came about by accident one practice.
“It was just like one of the times me and Brandon in practice switched on a blitz where he was supposed to go, but I went,” Holland recalled.
Whatever he did on that blitz may have served as a revelation, but the coaching staff knew before then it had a defender that could be used in many ways.
“You could see, as a player in college, he was very versatile — whether it was in the deep defense, whether it was around the line of scrimmage, whether it was playing man to man,” said defensive backs coach Gerald Alexander. “You knew he had the ability to do quite a bit. We’ve been able to use his skill set to really be versatile, which is exactly what we want in our defense.”
On Nov. 7 against the Houston Texans, Holland intercepted a pass for the first time in his pro career. As opposed to the sacks, that’s something he did plenty of in college, where he had nine interceptions.
It was something Dolphins linebacker Jerome Baker saw coming for him dating back to training camp with the way he was showing rapid improvement from missing plays to eventually intercepting four practice passes in the preseason — two against Dolphins quarterbacks and one each in joint sessions with the Chicago Bears and Atlanta Falcons.
“At first, he was a step behind,” Baker said, “and then he was deflecting the ball, and then the next week he was actually catching the pick.”
Holland’s ball skills come from also playing receiver in high school. He was told by Oregon coach Mario Cristobal that he wanted him to contribute on offense before the 2020 season where Holland opted out due to COVID-19.
Even at 21, Holland has already established himself as a vocal leader.
“What makes him unique is his work ethic, his confidence,” Rowe said. “He already has a voice on the defense. When it comes to rookies, that’s not — I wouldn’t say rare — but there’s not too many rookies that come in and try to take over from Day 1.”
It’s something that impresses Jones after he felt he needed to take a big jump from Year 1 to Year 2 this offseason to get where he is.
“It’s hard to tell, if you don’t know him, that he’s a rookie,” Jones said. “Just by the way he plays, by the way he talks about the game and his overall knowledge.”
As far as the blitzes go, don’t get used to it always being like what the Dolphins did against the Ravens in a scheme tailored for Jackson.
“It won’t always be blitz-heavy like it was last week,” said Flores. “Sometimes it’s a coverage game, sometimes it’s a blitz game, sometimes it’s a mix of both. I think it’s specific to what kind of team we’re playing.”
But just the threat of the Dolphins’ recent success with the blitz already has opponents altering their strategy. The Jets are starting quarterback Joe Flacco over rookie Zach Wilson and fellow youngster Mike White, a University School grad, because they prefer having the 36-year-old veteran under center to handle Miami’s pressure.