Miami Dolphins safety Jevon Holland will go into his second NFL season finding a little extra motivation from an experience weeks after concluding an upstart rookie year.

Holland tagged along with the Dolphins’ lone Pro Bowl selection from the 2021 season, cornerback Xavien Howard, to take in the environment at the Pro Bowl in Las Vegas surrounded by the NFL’s best.

It’s what Holland could very well be bound for in the future after a rookie season where the versatile safety had 68 tackles, two interceptions, 2 1/2 sacks, a fumble recovery and 10 pass deflections.

“I felt super motivated,” Holland said earlier this week. “That was one of the best moments for me as a young player, as a competitor, really. To see those guys out there, like this is the goal, this is where I want to get to.”

And Holland had the ideal tour guide in Howard, who was at the Pro Bowl for the third time in his career.

“Having X there, X is awesome,” said Holland, who forms one of the league’s most dynamic, young safety tandems with rising third-year player Brandon Jones. “The whole time I was with him, tracking him, interviewing him or whatnot, he’s a better guy than he is a football player.”

Holland also enjoyed meeting three-time Pro Bowl cornerback Joe Haden, and he was honored to be recognized by him, a sign that Holland’s name is making the rounds in league circles.

A key for Holland in 2022 will be his familiarity with the NFL with a season under his belt. He enters his sophomore campaign with a greater comfort level in Miami.

“Last year, I was in an unknown environment,” said Holland, the early-second-round pick out of Oregon, No. 36 overall, in 2021. “I was really nervous about everything. I had never been to Florida before.”

Holland had a funny story about one of his first experiences with Florida and its wildlife.

“I went by the hotel we were staying at, there was a little lake,” Holland said. “I went jogging by the lake and there was a frog. I’m thinking it’s an alligator because I’m from California, so I thought there was an alligator everywhere. I started tripping, running back to my room.

“But now, I’m cool. I’m comfortable. I like being here. I love Florida — the sun, the sky, all of that. I was definitely nervous being here. It’s the NFL. I was shaking in my boots, for lack of better terms. I feel way better now.”

Holland can stand to benefit from being part of a secondary that remained intact, along with the defense as a whole.

He and Jones provide a versatile safety tandem, capable of doing everything from pass coverage over the top to blitzing from their position, as the Dolphins so often do. That should continue under defensive coordinator Josh Boyer, who remained on Miami’s staff through the transition at head coach from Brian Flores to Mike McDaniel and through the departure of defensive backs coach Gerald Alexander.

Holland and Jones are able to blitz as much as they’re asked to do with Howard, cornerback Byron Jones and nickel corner Nik Needham often called on to play single man coverage. Holland also covers a lot of ground when asked to play center field as a single high safety, helping the cornerbacks over the top.

Miami’s retention of defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah gives the team the primary pass rusher up front it needs to make the pass defense all come together, along with Holland’s fellow 2021 defensive rookie in edge Jaelan Phillips. The Dolphins are capable of getting to the opposing quarterback quickly, causing rushed decisions the defensive backs can take advantage of.

Holland will be reunited with a familiar face this offseason and training camp — former Oregon safety Verone McKinley. McKinley, a ballhawk on the back end like Holland, was one of the undrafted free agents picked up by the Dolphins following the NFL draft last weekend.

“He’s going to rise to the top,” Holland said of McKinley. “I believe in him. He’s a hell of a player and an even better guy. He fits right in with the culture of the team.”

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