The Miami Dolphins’ weekly depth chart paints a grim picture for the team’s second first round draft choice from the 2021 NFL draft, Jaelan Phillips. Phillips is currently listed as the third-team outside linebacker and behind Brennan Scarlett and Andrew Van Ginkel.
Yikes, right?
Wrong.
Here’s the thing about the Dolphins’ depth chart: it hasn’t changed in three weeks. And sure, when Phillips was sidelined with a minor leg injury, he was third on the pecking order. But just like in the same way that the Dolphins have made updates to their projected depth chart as compared to their actual listed depth chart elsewhere on the roster (Liam Eichenberg is still listed as the first-team left guard but hasn’t been there since before the Chicago game), Phillips is on the rise. Phillips has been getting some run with the first-team defense according to reports out of camp this past week; a promising development that the team apparently feels Phillips can help them win right away with his physical tools. Defensive coordinator Josh Boyer laid it out for Phillips earlier this week during his press availability:
“I think like all guys that come into the league, there is a learning process that has to occur. I think that Jaelan, when he’s had opportunities to get work on the field, he’s made the most of those. I think he’s doing some good things out there and then there are some things that we have a ways to go. The more he does it, the better he’ll be at it. We’re excited to have Jaelan. He’s a hard worker and he’s doing some good things for us. We’ll just hope that continues on an upward trajectory,” said Boyer.
“I think the thing for Jaelan is he’s going to keep working. Yesterday or whatever day we played, it was the first experience he had in the NFL on the field. We were excited for that for him. There are some good things out there and there are some things he’ll get better. He can’t buy experience. One of the ways to get better is to play. When you can expose him to multiple things and he can see multiple looks and get the experience of it, some of the things we’ve seen in practice and some of the things he’s done, obviously we expect it to trend in an upward pattern about where he’s getting better.”
Phillips was stout in the aforementioned preseason debut against Atlanta. He didn’t get many chances to rush the passer with just 5 reps credited as pass rushes versus 20 reps defending the run against QB Feliepe Franks and the Falcons; but Phillips showcased versatility and an ability to play in space on the edge as needed. And, to Boyer’s point, if he continues to trend upward from here, the formality of an updated and upgraded role on the depth chart figures to be more of an inevitability than anything else.