CONTENT

Post Draft Analysis
Youtube Highlights
ESPN Insider Draft Analysis (paid subscription)
NFL.COM Draft Analysis
NFL Draft Bible Analysis (paid subscription)
Pro Football Focus Draft Analysis (paid subscription)
Gridiron Draft Guide (Simon Clancy) (paid subscription)
Pro Football Network (Tony Pauline) Analysis
The 33rd Team (Ireland et al.) Analysis

POST DRAFT ANALYSIS

Charley Casserly (former Washington and Houston GM):
I’ve seen him cover wide receivers. I’ve seen him cover running backs and I’ve seen him cover tight ends and he hits people. They want a guy in Miami’s defense to match up all across the field. You can’t find safeties that can cover. This guy’s a steal in the second round.

Ryan Smith (Pro Football Focus):
In 2018, Holland had 382 coverage snaps, all at safety, and allowed only 26 completions in 43 targets for 325 yards, two touchdowns and five interceptions. That’s a 59.9 passer rating against, which is extraordinary. In 2019, he had 539 coverage snaps, all at cornerback, and allowed 45 receptions in 72 targets for 487 yards, two touchdowns and four interceptions That’s a 68.5 passer rating against. Most of those cornerback snaps came with Holland in the slot; he played only 18 snaps at outside corner, with one target. Holland’s nine interceptions over 2018 and 2019 were fourth-most in college football, and he broke up 10 other passes, while committing only one penalty over those two seasons. He opted out of last season.

Pre-Draft Analysis
Holland is a well-built and instinctive safety at his best lining up over the slot where he has the balance, upper-body strength and speed to compete with receivers and tight ends. He played receiver in high school, and he's a playmaker with excellent ball skills. He averaged 15.3 yards per punt return in 2019, and he's a sound tackler with the potential to develop into an excellent special teams player. -- Steve Muench

Post-Draft Analysis
Holland is a perfect fit in Dolphins coach Brian Flores' defense. He has versatility and can play deep safety and man-to-man out of the slot. Holland played 64% of his coverage snaps in the slot at Oregon. Holland is a playmaker with nine interceptions over two seasons, which should help the Dolphins be better covering sideline to sideline and tackling speedy receivers. Miami allowed 6.2 yards after catch per reception last season, easily the worst in the NFL (next closest were the Chiefs at 5.8). -- Cameron Wolfe

Player Bio

Despite starting just two of 13 contests as a true freshman, Holland tied for 10th in the FBS with five interceptions. He also recorded 44 tackles and six pass breakups for the Ducks. He continued to play well as a sophomore, garnering honorable mention All-Pac-12 honors by posting 66 tackles, four interceptions (one returned for a score) and four pass breakups on the year. Holland opted out of the 2020 season. The four-star recruit and 2017 San Francisco Chronicle East Bay Player of the Year (five interceptions, 1,012 receiving yards, five punt return touchdowns) was coached by former NFL back Napoleon Kaufman at Bishop O'Dowd High School. Holland's father, Robert, played football at Sacramento State and then had a long career in the Canadian Football League. -- by Chad Reuter

Analysis

• Draft Projection - Round 2-3
• NFL Comparison - Jordan Poyer

Overview

Versatile defensive back with good size, above-average instincts and impressive ball skills. Holland plays with good pattern recognition and anticipation underneath. He has the ball greed and competitiveness to make contested catches a challenge for opponents. He's willing and able in run support near the line of scrimmage, giving him value as a big nickel, but he lacks recovery burst and will struggle if he's matched one-on-one with speed from the slot. He has the football IQ and ball skills to handle split-safety duties but needs to continue fine-tuning his tackling technique. His added value as a punt returner should push him up the board a few spots.

Strengths

• Looks, feels and moves like a pro player.
• Versatility to move around in the secondary.
• Proper eye balance between quarterback and route traffic from zone.
• Adequate route-break anticipation from off-man.
• Looks to smother and find entry point to play the throw at the top of the route.
• Timing to open and sprint into phase with receiver.
• High school receiver with excellent ball skills and competes hard for the football.
• Tools for continued ball production on the next level.
• Consistent punch and separates from perimeter blocks.
• Flies into developing run lanes to greet runners near the line.
• Makes centered, aggressive strikes as downhill tackler.
• Flashed impressive punt return talent.

Weaknesses

• Scouts have some concerns about long speed.
• Loses coverage effectiveness as route progresses downfield.
• Had trouble catching up once he got behind in man coverage.
• Gets caught flat-footed at times.
• A little labored transitioning from his pedal.
• Average range as sideline-to-sideline tackler.
• Needs to be quicker coming to balance and getting tackle-ready.
• In 2019, pushed around at point of attack by Washington tight end Cade Otton.

JEVON HOLLAND | Oregon | SS | #8 | Jr | 6006 | 200 | Pleasanton, CA | Bishop O’Dowd

OVERVIEW:
Working predominantly from the nickel cornerback position during his Ducks career, Holland was a turnover machine for the team during his two years as a contributor, highlighted by his nine career interceptions. Even after opting out of the 2020 season to declare for the 2021 draft, Holland sits as one of the more accomplished defensive backs in the entire class. Holland is a well put together defender who has a strong safety look to him playing near the line of scrimmage. His work in short-zone coverage rivals the best in the 2021 class, always seeming to be in the proper spot, leading to a wide array of plays made all over the field. Holland’s ball skills are fantastic, showing the ability to work in phase and disrupt the football at the catch point with high regularity. In the run game, Holland is a consistent wrap-up tackler, but is nothing close to a tone setter. An odd projection, Holland is rarely used in any role outside of a nickel cornerback. His zone awareness is fantastic, but Holland is an ordinary athlete who may lack the short-area quickness to mirror well enough in man coverage. Holland is also very foreign to working in deep-zone coverage, continuing to beg the question as to what the overall impact may be. Holland is a talented cerebral player who always seems to be around the ball. He has a clear impact in short-zone coverage, but might lack the physical profile to ever ascend as anything more than a solid starting option.

BACKGROUND:
Born in British Columbia, Canada, and raised in the Oakland, California, area since the age of eight. Honorable mention All-Pac-12 in 2019 in vote of league coaches. Four-star recruit. Opted out of the 2020 season to prepare for the draft. Father played football at Sacramento State, was on the San Francisco 49ers and played many years in CFL. High school head coach commented that he’s a better wideout than defensive back. Interesting and thoughtful personality. Very supportive of his teammates. Mature. Father instilled discipline and daily workouts his entire life and essentially forced football and the goal of playing the NFL on his son who embraced it.

CAREER:

Jevon Holland signed with the Ducks in December 2017 as a consensus four-star recruit and California’s No. 2 overall athlete. He was named the 2017 San Francisco East Bay Player of the Year following his senior season at Oakland’s Bishop O’Dowd High School.
Holland played defensive back and wide receiver (and returned punts) in high school, recording 1,012 receiving yards and 12 receiving touchdowns as a senior. He amassed over 100 tackles and 18 passes defensed on the defensive side of the ball over the course of his preps career. He fielded close to 20 total scholarship offers and picked Oregon over Notre Dame, UCLA and Washington, among others.

1. JEVON HOLLAND OREGON

SIZE: 6ft 1in, 200lbs
CLASS: Junior
THE SKINNY:
A safety/nickel hybrid, Holland has elite ball skills and instincts. Although he played almost exclusively as a slot at times, he has a safety’s brain and mindset and a fantastic ability to read the game.

DEEP DIVE:
He opted out of 2020 but there’s so much to like. What stands out more than anything are the ball skills and instincts from deep safety because they’re borderline elite. He’s a plus athlete with some twitch and some explosion, both as a safety or a nickel corner. From deep, he has excellent read-and-react ability and can follow a quarterback’s eyes and use his instincts and understanding of angles to get to the ball or the ball-carrier in a hurry. In space, he’s adept at getting off blocks to make tackles and he’s a very sure tackler and a form-hitter with an ability to constantly take men down in the open field. As a nickel, he tends to play off-man or zone and it’s clear that he organises that Ducks secondary pre-snap and has a real understanding of coverages. Holland has the ability to see plays as they unfold and peel off his man in coverage and run to make the play. At times he stops his feet a little in short-area coverages and he has a tendency to sometimes bite on a fake because he sees it develop, only to be suckered in – fake screens, for example. He can flip his hips and run and has good play strength to stay in the route, or to take down a ball-carrier. I would have liked to have seen him play as a pure free safety in 2020 and a lack of a true position might hurt him but he’s such a Swiss Army Knife that smart teams will really make use of him. For me, he’s best patrolling deep because he can get sideline to sideline, but can also come down into the box and thump. Holland also has some juice on special teams. He’s a first-round player who will probably be huge value in round two.

OFF FIELD:
Originally from Canada, his father played for the 49ers. He then went up to Canada and played for the BC Lions and the Edmonton Eskimos, and then coached in the CFL. Oregon HC Mario Cristobal says he’s actually a better WR than he is defensive back. A thinker off the field, he was very vocal around social injustice in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd. Left the 2019 Colorado game with a left-leg injury that required a walking boot but didn’t miss any games.

JEVON HOLLAND - SAFETY

• GRADE - 3.88
• Weight: 195
• School: Oregon
• Year: Junior

CAREER SNAPSHOT:
After star performances on both sides of the ball in high school, Holland was recruited as a four-star athlete. Taking his talents to Oregon, Holland made an immediate impact as a fresh-man where he started two games, registering 42 tackles and an impressive 5 interceptions.
He followed that up in his sophomore season with 66 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, 4 intercep-tions, and a touchdown.
After being named a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award and to the first-team All-Pac-12, Holland opted out of his junior season to pre-pare for the 2021 NFL Draft.

POSITIVES:
Explosive, athletic safety with a well-rounded game. Does an outstanding job with coverage assignments, tracks the pass in the air, and dis-plays a good move to the throw.
Follows receivers across the middle of the field, effectively times pass defenses, and possesses good hands for the interception.
Displays terrific ball skills, flips his hips in tran-sition, and gets his head back around to locate the pass in the air. Not a liability covering the slot receiver. Aggressive and battles receivers throughout the route.
Fires up the field, breaks down well, and gives effort defending the run and stop-ping screen passes.

NEGATIVES:
Possesses a thin frame and struggles in battles. Will be outmatched by bigger re-ceivers. Inconsistent bursting to the ball.

ANALYSIS:
Holland is a good athlete and a developing safety who would've benefited from another sea-son on the field in 2020. His ball skills and coverage ability are such that teams may consider him at cornerback or nickel back. Holland comes with a large upside but needs time to devel-op his game.

PFN'S BEST NFL FITS:
New Orleans Saints, Washington Football Team, Las Vegas Raiders

THE 33RD TEAM

BUILD
Good size with a light/slim frame, needs to put on weight. Gets manhandled by big bodied blockers at the POA, not enough on his frame to do anything about it. Only had 2 years in the weight room at Oregon, frame certainly has room to add more at the next level. Great length from the Slot Corner able to press and redirect routes at the LOS with his size and length. No injuries in his football career at Oregon, Opted out of the 2020 season body type may be different after a year of pouring into it.

MENTAL
Against the Run Holland is very intinctual with his angles and ability to sort through second level blockers. On the perimeter is able to disengage from blocks and finish in the screen and sweep game.

ATHLETICISM
Change of Direction is effortless, mirrors defenders from the LOS. Utilizes Play Strength against slot receivers to redirect and speed and explosiveness against TEs and bigger threats. Ability to Bend

TECHNICAL
Position versatility as both a Slot Corner and a High Safety, if he adds more weight he has the ability play in the Box as well. Hips are smooth and fluid but struggles to get out of the break with speed, slight hitch in the transition. One of the best man coverage threats in the Pac 12 against anyone from slots to TEs. Both from the Slot and High Safety able to be a factor in the run game, gets off blocks on the perimeter and navigates the junk in the middle very well for a leaner DB. Has 9 picks in 16 starts at Oregon, Bursts through the catch points with great make up speed and ability to fight for the ball in the air. Hollands style of play puts him in great positions to make plays on the football as well as in the run game.

SUMMARY
Holland should come in day one and immediately compete to be the Slot Corner or High Safety day one. Unique ability to offer true position versatility by being a moveable piece of the secondary,