There are different ways to build a competitive team, and fortifying what had been a shabby defense is never a bad approach.
The Giants continued along that pathway, striking early on the second day of NFL free agency. They went in with holes to fill and are filling them, one by one.
They added a starting safety, agreeing to terms Tuesday morning on Jevon Holland, a 25-year-old who will move directly into the lineup.
This is a huge addition for the Giants, and Holland did not come cheaply.
He will sign a three-year contract worth $45.3 million, with $30.3 million guaranteed, big money for a player considered to be the top safety available in free agency this year.
One year after general manager Joe Schoen opted not to pay big bucks to retain Xavier McKinney, he reeled in a top-of-the-market safety, spending on a position that he previously did not prioritize.
McKinney received a four-year, $67 million deal from the Packers and went on to have a sensational 2024 season, finishing second in the NFL with eight interceptions.
Jevon Holland is joining Big Blue. AP
Holland, a 2021 second-round pick out of Oregon, spent his first four NFL seasons with the Dolphins, starting 57 of the 60 games he appeared in.
He will line up in the back end of the defense with Tyler Nubin, the 2024 second-round pick who started 13 games as a rookie before he went down with an ankle injury that required surgery.
Holland has five career interceptions, and at 6-foot-1 and 205 pounds, is considered to be a willing and able contributor in the run game.
He also has five forced fumbles and five sacks. Holland’s 91.3 grade in coverage, according to Pro Football Focus, is the fifth highest in the league among safeties since 2021.
Why was Holland available? He did not play his best in 2024 — a career-low 62 tackles and no interceptions.
He did make an impact during his time in Miami, however. In his second season, Holland became the youngest team captain in Dolphins history.
The Giants believe Nubin has strong leadership traits and lining him up next to Holland should make for an interesting pairing.
Just like that, the Giants have a young, aggressive, athletic and versatile defensive backfield. Newly signed cornerback Paulson Adebo is 25. Holland is 25. Deonte Banks is 24. Nubin and Dru Phillips are both 23.
If the Giants — with defensive coordinator Shane Bowen in his second year, new secondary coach/defensive passing game coordinator Marquand Manuel and new assistant cornerbacks coach Jeff Burris — can get Banks, the 2023 first-round pick, to pick up his intensity and performance, this could be a vastly improved group.
Jevon Holland was a four-year starter for the Dolphins. AP
Is this a major pivot, as far as assessing positional value, by Schoen, paying a safety a year after not anteing up for McKinney, one of their own draft picks?
Well, the Giants a year ago did have an offer on the table for McKinney that would have paid him around $15 million per year — almost exactly what they will pay Holland.
McKinney took the Giants offer and shopped it around — he wanted to become the league’s highest-paid safety — and he was able to get a deal with the Packers for nearly $17 million per year.
Xavier McKinney celebrating an interception for the Packers. Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
As McKinney was considering his options, the Giants were engaged in talks to trade for edge rusher Brian Burns.
Once it became clear they could get that deal done, they reallocated the money to Burns, who was acquired and then signed to a five-year, $141 million contract.
Holland ended up getting more guaranteed money than McKinney, who received $23 million guaranteed from the Packers.
Given that the 2025 salary cap increased by nearly 10 percent, Holland’s contract is a cost savings.
In the first two days of free agency, the Giants added significant players to their defense.
In addition to Adebo and Holland, they added to their depth with defensive end Chauncey Golston, defensive tackle Roy Robertson-Harris and linebacker/special teamer Chris Board.
Golston figures to start on the outside of the defensive line and then move inside in pass rush situations.
