Despite boasting a 4-13 record in 2025, the New York Giants felt like a team with enough talent to win football games.
Their offense was incredibly young, sure. Rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart needed to take his lumps while working with the likes of Malik Nabers, Wan’Dale Robinson, and Cam Skattebo, but the defense was too good to play as badly as they did.
You could make the case that the Giants had one of the best defensive fronts in all of football, led by All-Pro caliber players Brian Burns and Dexter Lawrence, supplemented by Kayvon Thibodeaux and 2025 No. 3 overall pick Abdul Carter.
Instead, New York was near the bottom of the league in most defensive categories (except sacks) and struggled to make stops.
The problem was that too many other players didn’t live up to expectations, despite being billed as impact players and big-ticket additions.
Those players, now under John Harbaugh, will have to step it up in 2026, or they may be looking for new homes in 2027.
Jevon Holland Tabbed as Giant Facing the Most Pressure in 2026
One of those players is New York Giants safety Jevon Holland, who signed a major contract in free agency last spring, only to be a major disappointment in his debut with Big Blue.
Pro Football Network’s Jacob Infante named Holland as the Giants player facing the most pressure to perform going into 2026, and it’s tied to his bloated salary.
“Jevon Holland is the ninth-highest paid safety in the NFL at $15.1 million AAV, but his first year with the New York Giants didn’t live up to that. He finished No. 29 in the NFL in PFN Safety Impact Scoring, and he missed three games due to injury,” wrote Infante.
“There’s a new defensive coordinator in the Big Apple, and with Holland’s potential release freeing up $13.8 million next offseason, it could happen as the Giants build the defense in Dennard Wilson’s image.”
General manager Joe Schoen inked Holland to a three-year, $45.3 million contract in March 2025, and it’s safe to say the early returns haven’t been great.
In his first season with New York, Holland graded out as the 73rd-best safety in the NFL, per Pro Football Focus, and earned an overall grade of 58.4.
As the ninth-highest paid safety in the NFL, that’s unacceptable, and he has no choice but to turn it around in 2026 if he wants to stay with the Giants.
Giants Have Options With Jevon Holland
Holland was a solid player for the Miami Dolphins to start his career, and could totally bounce back with the New York Giants in 2026.
Maybe his skill set didn’t fit with the old coaching staff, and playing under new defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson will give him a boost.
If not, the Giants won’t be stuck with their high-paying safety much longer than 2026.
After this season, New York can get out of the final year of Holland’s contract by eating roughly $5.1 million in dead cap. The move would free up $13.8 million in cap space.
Of course, the Giants would rather just have a good safety at that number, and hopefully, Holland can exceed his current expectations and give New York some solid play on the backend.
Giants $45.3 Million Defender Facing Most Pressure Entering 2026