Jevon Holland gives rave reviews to safeties set to replace him with Dolphins

USA Today

13-03-2025

Jevon Holland gives rave reviews to safeties set to replace him with Dolphins
Jevón Holland's time with the Miami Dolphins officially came to an end this week when he became a free agent and agreed to terms on a three-year, $45.3 million deal with the New York Giants. But the safety hasn't had anything negative to say about the team that picked him in the second round of the 2021 NFL draft.
In a podcast with NFL Network's Cameron Wolfe, Holland even had glowing praise for the pair of safeties brought in to replace him in Miami.
"I will say Ashtyn [Davis], he's been with the with the Jets for the last five years, I think he's like kind of a jack of all trades, very fast, very athletic," Holland said on the latest episode of Breakin' House Rules. "He does a lot for the Jets, core [special] teamer as well. And I think that he's going to have some success in Miami.
"I think [Ifeatu Melifonwu], the same thing. He's kind of been behind Brian Branch and Kerby [Joseph] on the Lions. But he's the same way, like, he's really athletic, really talented, tall, lanky, has range. He's gonna have success, as well as Patrick McMorris and Elijah Campbell, like they both are still really good players."
The Dolphins reportedly entertained the idea of bringing back Holland, but couldn't stomach his more than $15 million per year price tag. The 25-year-old safety has a theory about why Miami might not prioritize the tail-end of the secondary enough to dish out that much.
"The scheme for the safeties is more so, like, umbrella thought process," Holland said. "Keep everything in front of you. When you look at the Ravens and how they were built — because it's kind of like a Ravens scheme — the way that the Ravens are built, their front is where they make the bread. The front and the front seven. Like, if their safety or the corner is good, then their defense is even better. So I feel like the thought process is to build from the bottom up. So the [defensive] line, the linebackers, and then the safeties."
The pair of new safeties set to be added to the Miami secondary came at a much lower price. Melifonwu and Davis reportedly agreed to one-year deals worth $4 million and $2.5 million, respectively.