Jacob Phillips wasn’t the brightest light on a star-studded LSU defense last fall. He’ll get his shot to shine in the middle of the Cleveland defense now that Phillips is the third-round pick of the Browns.
The Browns clearly liked what they saw from the LSU linebacker. What did the draft analysts say about Phillips before the draft?
His NFL.com draft blurb isn’t all that glowing,
Phillips is a reliable option but lacks the alpha field demeanor and explosive athleticism teams look for. He has backup talent and should step into a special teams role quickly. Early tape was better than later tape as the competition level increased. He does an adequate job of handling his assignments but won’t make that many plays outside of the scheme.
It’s an even less optimistic take over at The Draft Network, where Phillips ranked well below several LBs who were drafted much later.
Jacob Phillips projects as a depth player and developmental linebacker at the NFL level. Phillips struggles with consistently processing action in the backfield and too often looks lost on the second level. Without high end anticipation and with only modest redirection and scrape ability, Phillips is going to need significant development to reach starting caliber.
Bleacher Report compared Phillips to Malik Jefferson, a player the Browns had on the roster for half of 2019 but never played.
“Phillips is a natural athlete who pops off the tape because of his size and movement skills, but his football IQ is low for now. He isn’t ready to take meaningful NFL snaps, especially in coverage, without major development and classroom time. He has plenty of potential, but he’s a boom-or-bust prospect.”
Dane Brugler of The Athletic pegged Phillips as a fifth-round prospect while noting,
“Phillips is consistently around the football with his reliable reaction to movement, beating blockers to the spot and mirroring ball carriers. While a steady tackler (you can count his 2019 missed tackles on one hand), his body stiffness and questionable play strength won’t be as easy to mask at the next level. Overall, Phillips has limitations that lowers his NFL ceiling, but teams will be comfortable taking a chance on a player with his production, nose for the ball and straight-line speed – traits that project well to special teams.”
Not exactly the most glowing of reviews for Phillips, but the Browns see something they believe can allow the fiery Tiger to shine in Cleveland.