There’s a reason this new Dolphins duo has so much chemistry. They’ve done this before

Jevon Holland and Verone McKinley III won’t lie and say this is how they envisioned it unfolding.

But in between bites and sips of In-N-Out on UCLA’s campus Thursday afternoon, the parallels the young safeties rattled off — from their football pedigree to the role they now play for the Dolphins — were more and more striking, fitting for a duo that considers each like brothers.

The latest stop in their journeys brought them to Los Angeles for Sunday night’s road game against the Chargers and back to the West Coast, where they both starred as members of the Oregon Ducks in the Pac-12.

“We didn’t expect to play with each other ... The way things trickled down, it just happened,” McKinley said.

‘We just gravitated together’

It was late in the second half of the Dolphins’ Week 7 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers when McKinley, elevated from the practice squad, rushed onto the field. Brandon Jones, essentially an every-down player, sustained a season-ending knee injury earlier in the game, sending defensive coordinator Josh Boyer to his contingency plan.

“What are you doing in here?” Holland recalled saying.

“’I’m in,’” McKinley responded.

“‘Oh, alright, let’s do it,’” Holland replied.

That moment marked a milestone, the first NFL snaps for McKinley and the tandem’s first time sharing the field as pros. Later in the fourth quarter, Holland — originally lined up next to McKinley as a deep safety — dropped down and undercut a Kenny Pickett pass, one of two late Dolphins interceptions that helped preserve a six-point win and end a three-game losing streak.

And just like that, it felt like their college days.

The two were both commits to Oregon’s 2018 recruiting class, Holland from the Bay Area and McKinley from a Dallas suburb.

The duo quickly formed a friendship and were roommates, finding similarities with their upbringings in sports families. Holland’s father played in the Canadian Football League and had a stint with the 49ers. McKinley’s dad played college football at Texas Tech.

“We just gravitated together ... Once our families met, it just clicked. We literally sat outside IHOP for, like, three hours because they were just talking,” McKinley said.

‘Leaders of the team’

McKinley redshirted their freshman season, while Holland quickly assumed a spot on defense, recording a team-high five interceptions. The next season, with McKinley ready to step into a bigger role, Holland was moved to the nickel cornerback position and McKinley was inserted as starting free safety. The two tied for the team lead with four interceptions apiece as Oregon went 12-2 with a Rose Bowl win.

University of Miami football coach Mario Cristobal, who coached Holland and McKinley at Oregon, praised their versatility and leadership.

“Exceptional human beings, No. 1,” Cristobal said. “Relentless students of the game. Their football IQs are, like, through the roof and beyond. Insane hard workers and they were leaders of the team.”

In 2020, Holland opted out of the season amid COVID concerns and turned his focus to preparing for the 2021 NFL Draft. Holland, whom the Dolphins selected with the No. 36 overall pick, was one of many Oregon defenders who sat out the season, which pushed McKinley into more of a leadership position.

“[I was] just ready to embrace the role,” McKinley said. “You learn a lot. You’re able to bounce ideas off each other. [Holland] goes, and that’s when I started to elevate.”

In a shortened seven-game season, McKinley recorded one interception and finished third on the team in tackles. He earned the nickname, “The General,” for the way he led Oregon’s defense. After picking up Associated Press first-team All-America and All-Pac 12 honors, McKinley declared for the 2022 NFL Draft.

McKinley, who spoke with the Dolphins during the draft process, saw a fit with a defense that likes to play a lot of defensive backs. He wasn’t selected in the Draft but quickly signed with Miami as an undrafted rookie free agent.

In training camp, McKinley flashed the ball-hawking skills that made him one of college football’s top defensive backs. He was one of the final cuts ahead of the deadline to trim rosters to 53 players but signed back to the Dolphins’ practice squad.

‘We’ve got chemistry back there’

Since Jones’ injury, Boyer has been creative with his safety packages, and McKinley’s snaps have increased. A week after he and Holland shared the field on the prime-time stage, McKinley made his first start against the Detroit Lions and played a season-high 48 snaps, primarily as a deep safety. Two weeks later, McKinley signed to the team’s 53-man roster.

“We’ve been very pleased with him from a communication standpoint,” Boyer said in October. “Very pleased with his ball skills, very pleased with his tackling in the deep part of the field, and obviously we’ll ask his role to grow, just like we do other guys as well.”

McKinley’s presence on the field has meant Holland, one of the league’s up-and-coming defensive players, has often moved closer to the line of scrimmage, just as he did as a sophomore in college.

“It’s kind of like the same thing,” Holland said. “I was kind of thrown into the same position, having to adapt to a new position while he’s growing in his position.”

The Dolphins pride themselves on communication on defense, especially in the secondary. Holland and McKinley, whose lockers are adjacent to each other, have found theirs natural as former college teammates.

“There’s little things that you can do as a player when you understand the guy that you’re playing next to on that level,” said safeties coach Steve Gregory. “They have a really good friendship. Just little nuances to body language and a certain look you can give a guy that he understands what you’re trying to tell him in certain situations. I definitely think that helps those guys in that area.”

In the Dolphins’ 30-15 win over the Texans in Week 12, McKinley recorded his first career interception late in the fourth quarter, closing the door on any possible Houston comeback. As he raced to the end zone to celebrate, Holland was right by his side.

As they recalled the play, they lit up at how similar both of their first NFL picks were: at home, against the Texans, and undercutting a deep vertical pass.

“This is my dawg,” Holland said. “Me and him have been on the same team for a minute now. We’ve got chemistry back there. I know how he plays. He knows how I play.”