Big Board ranking: #100

Positional ranking: #14

 

Overview

Position: CB

College: Kentucky

Class: Junior (RS)

Age: 22

 

Measurables

Height: 5’10 3/4″

Weight: 190 lbs.

Arm length: 31 1/4”

Hand size: 8 3/4″

 

Athletic testing

40-yard dash: 4.48 sec.

10-yard split: 1.51 sec.

Vertical jump: 42.0”

Broad jump: 135.0”

Bench press: N/A

3-cone drill: N/A

Short shuttle: N/A

 

Strengths

Highly confident and fiery. Phenomenal burst and explosiveness. Above-average speed. Very quick and fluid movement skills for cover transitions. Quick to plant and accelerate from the backpedal. Outstanding quickness to stick on in-breaking routes from the side shuffle or backpedal. Very fast closing off space in the second phase of the route. Very accurate to punch the ball away. Smooth flipping his hips to cover vertical routes. Shows poise with the ball in the air on downfield passes. Aggressive flying up to tackle on underneath passes. Quick to get off or around blocks. Gives effort to get free. Willing to throw his body around. Routinely looked to chop down opponents at full speed. Has shown he will completely commit to putting his body on the line to take out an offensive lineman. Fast as a blitzer. Experience on both outside cornerbacks and spent extensive time in the slot. Intriguing skillset to mold as a kick returner.

 

Weaknesses

Instincts and play recognition are lacking. Delayed anticipation of route breaks. Does not have a very good feel in zone coverage. Gets flipped around too often in coverage. Lost his footing at times in coverage. Limited ball production and instincts. Allows too much space in off coverage and needs to be more controlled tackling after the catch. Would like to see more control in general. Doesn’t take great angles to tackle in the open field. Gets dragged around some as a tackler. Misses too many tackles by leaving his feet and going low.

 

NFL comparison

David Long Jr.

 

Conclusion

Overall, Phillips is an extremely explosiveness cornerback that showed flashes of stickiness in coverage and aggression versus the run. The concerns about instincts and general feel as a cover man could make him someone that needs a very defined role by being used in aggressive man coverage and as a blitzer.