The Miami Dolphins decided to address their secondary in the second round of the 2021 draft when they selected safety Jevon Holland out of Oregon.
After opting out during his final year in college, there were some who questioned his ability, but those who watched him knew he had a chance to be a solid contributor in this league.
However, what the Dolphins ended up getting was one of the better safeties in the NFL. Among those who were quick to recognize his ability was his teammate Jason McCourty.
In an interview with Pro Football Focus, McCourty raved about Holland and shared his thoughts about watching him throughout the season.
“He’ll be as good as anyone,” McCourty said. “When he got his chance to go out there and start, he quickly became one of the better safeties in our league. I remember talking to my brother (New England Patriots safety Devin McCourty) throughout the season. When (Holland) got out there, I was like, ‘Yo, I’m telling you, this Jevon kid, he’s going to be one of the best safeties in the league.’ Already you can tell how good of a player he is, and that’s as a rookie where you have knowledge of the game, you know what’s going on, but now you give him years of development, of understanding, of going against offensive coordinators, knowing what different guys like, his knowledge of the game is only going to grow.”
Holland was a fantastic all-around safety in his first pro season, earning a nomination to PFF’s All-Pro Second-Team. If he continues along this trajectory, he can do exactly what McCourty predicted and become one of the game’s top players at his position.
