(ThyBlackMan.com) It is always an unpredictable exercise to try to predict all the NFL teams that will make the playoffs before the regular season starts. The up-and-down nature of NFL teams from year-to-year and the high rate of injuries to random NFL players during the course of an NFL season makes team record predictions challenging for some teams in particular. It is a safe assumption that the Miami Dolphins will compete to make the playoffs for the 2024 NFL season given they have had winning records in four consecutive regular seasons entering the 2024 NFL regular season. They answered a big offseason question by signing star quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to a lucrative long-term contract and the Dolphins also feature the man who is considered by his peers as the number one player in the NFL, wide receiver Tyreek Hill.
The Dolphins offense has a lot less questions than about their defense but one person who is not a question mark for the Dolphins defense is safety Jevon Holland, who may become a well-known name to the average sports fan and not just Dolphins fans. He can become known as one of the best defensive players in the NFL as well as one of the more interesting personalities in all the NFL.
Jevon Holland is entering his fourth NFL season, all with the Dolphins, after being a second-round pick of the 2021 NFL Draft out of Oregon. Last season, Holland had three forced fumbles, which is impressive for a defensive back, and also had a 99-yard interception return for a touchdown. This season, the Dolphins defense is under the microscope with a new defensive coordinator, Anthony Weaver, and Holland was happy with Weaver compared to last season’s defensive coordinator, Vic Fangio, by saying via NFL Media, “It’s the fact that [Weaver’s] a good person that makes a difference.”
Despite Jevon Holland’s characterization that Vic Fangio was not a “good person”, Holland performed at a high-level last season. Based on his background, it should not be surprising that he went beyond football in his assessment of Fangio because Jevon Holland has made it clear at a relatively young age that character matters to him. During 2020’s mass uprisings due to the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, Holland went public with several social justice social media posts as well as joining the public call for The University of Oregon to change the name of Deady Hall, named after Matthew Deady, a settler who supported slavery. It also wasn’t surprising when a recent NFL report named then-Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden allegedly asking Holland an inappropriate pre-NFL draft question, if Holland was going to “change your name to Malcolm X when you get into the league?’ as a likely question due to Holland’s political outspokenness and also a question of his football commitment. It is also worthy to note that Jevon Holland was voted one of 7 team captains out of 53 players of the Dolphins after just his first season in the NFL.
For the Dolphins to make a run in the playoffs, it will likely take winning the AFC East, which has been dominated by the Buffalo Bills in recent seasons. While much focus will be on the quarterback and the speedy, superstar receivers, the Dolphins defense will play a big role in how far the team will go in 2024. Jevon Holland’s talents can lead to a nice new contract after this season and he will continue to show that he is as he says, “I’m actually human before I’m a football player”.
Staff Writer; Mark Hines