Miami Dolphins fans have been waiting for defensive standout Jaelan Phillips to make a splash. Phillips played in two of the the team’s three preseason contests this month, including a significant workload throughout Miami’s final showcase against the Cincinnati Bengals. No sacks. And, quite frankly, a surprising investment in dropping into coverage. After all, Miami has described Phillips as an outside linebacker; not just a hand in the dirt player.
The end result of the preseason utilization for Phillips saw him take 56 snaps between the Atlanta game and the Cincinnati game. No sacks, two tackles and two pressures. Is this the plan for Phillips? And if so, is it a cause for worry.
Not a time to worry in the slightest. Because Phillips can rush the passer. We know this. He was phenomenal there as a member of the Hurricanes in 2020. But dropping into coverage is a new skill; so finding chances to have Phillips do “new” things in an exhibition setting is certainly an admirable approach to finding his comfort zone in a versatile defense.
Dolphins head coach Brian Flores described the team’s preseason assessment of Phillips on Monday.
“The way we structure the defense – it’s not a 4-3 where there’s just full-time defensive ends on the field at all times. We have a little bit more of a hybrid scheme where (Phillips) could be up, he could be down, it could be four-down, it could be base, it could be in a few different fronts. I think that we feel like Jaelan Phillips can do a few different things. I think maybe some different things on early downs and some different things in some obvious passing situations,” said Flores.
“We wanted to just see him in those roles yesterday. I think that’s the goal for him, is to play a few different positions, but right now we’re just kind of checking to see where he’s comfortable and then as a staff we’ll talk about it and kind of review things and see where we want to use him during the regular season.”
Spoiler alert: they’re going to ask him to rush the passer. Because even with Phillips playing a “quiet” role in the preseason, he was able to log multiple pressures as a pass rusher over just 17 rush opportunities in his two preseason showcases. Phillips came screaming in off the right edge to counter a naked boot play action from Cincinnati, sending the Bengals passer tumbling to the turf. And then there was the three-man stunt pressure that saw two Dolphins defenders slant left as Phillips looped behind him, opening the A-gap for him to press into and accelerate to disrupt the timing of another throw.
The rush that Phillips *just missed* was the most impressive one, a speed rush against Cincinnati near midfield in which he flashed a long-arm, chopped the tackle’s outside arm and dipped the corner to turn with speed.
The problem? Phillips’ cleats didn’t catch as he tried to flatten and corner and he lost his footing.
But the talent is there. There’s no question of that. And, after a preseason showcase that effectively featured the Dolphins experimenting with just how greedy they can get with his role right away, we should expect to see a simplified effort for Phillips with the regular season on the way. His objective?
Go get the quarterback.