The New York Giants are deep in the weeds right now, and one of the most glaring symptoms of their struggles is how they’re using Jevon Holland. Signed to be a key piece in the secondary - ideally a plug-and-play replacement for Xavier McKinney - Holland has instead found himself returning punts in a lost season. That’s not exactly the role you expect for a $45 million free agent.
Let’s start with the move itself. With the Giants lacking a true return man ahead of their matchup with Washington, interim head coach Mike Kafka made the surprising call to send Holland back to field punts.
It raised eyebrows, especially with Ihmir Smith-Marsette and Xavier Gipson both sitting on the practice squad - players who have actual return experience. Still, Kafka defended the decision postgame.
“We got a lot of trust in (safety Jevón) Holland to go back there and fair catch it,” Kafka told reporters. “He actually had a couple nice returns for us. But it was certainly one of the discussion points that we had in the week.”
That trust didn’t translate into a win, as the Giants fell 29-21 to the Commanders. And while Kafka tried to frame the decision as a calculated risk, it’s hard to ignore the optics: a high-priced safety, struggling to make an impact on defense, being repurposed on special teams in a season that’s already spiraled.
According to Pro Football Focus, Holland’s performance this year hasn’t come close to expectations. His 54.5 grade ranks 82nd out of 98 qualified safeties - a far cry from the playmaking presence the Giants hoped for when they brought him in from Oregon.
He’s not alone in underperforming, either. Fellow defensive back Paulson Adebo has also had a rough go, raising questions about whether the issues are more about scheme than individual talent.
But the comparison that stings the most? Xavier McKinney.
Since heading to Green Bay, McKinney has flourished, establishing himself as one of the top defensive backs in the league - and doing it on a contract that doesn’t break the bank. That contrast only sharpens the spotlight on the Giants’ decision to let him walk and spend big on Holland instead.
Kafka, who’s trying to make his case for a full-time head coaching job, appears to be throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks. The Giants have already tried a similar experiment with Deonte Banks, another player they hoped would develop into a cornerstone. That didn’t pan out either.
There’s a certain logic to it - when your team is out of playoff contention, you take chances. You test depth, experiment with roles, and try to find value wherever you can. But when those experiments involve a multi-year, multi-million-dollar investment being shifted to special teams duty, it’s a sign that something’s gone seriously sideways.
The Giants' problems go beyond Holland, but his situation is emblematic of the bigger picture: a roster built on questionable decisions, underwhelming returns on investment, and a coaching staff scrambling to salvage something from a season that’s slipping away.