Scouting Report: Jordan Phillips, DT

[midwestpatsfan]

I am back with another scouting report. This time on an intriguing DT. Let me know what you think.

http://www.nepatriotsdraft.com/2015/01/scouting-report-jordan-phillips-dt.html#more-33244

 

[mayoclinic]

Nice job. Your conclusion is just what I want: a rotational player in 2015 who takes over from VW in 2016. As you note, Phillips is more than just a space eater, and that's what I want, too: someone who can both clog the middle and who has some ability to penetrate and disrupt.

I'll be curious how you eventually see him stacking up to Malcolm Brown, Eddie Goldman, and Ellis McCarthy.

 

[mayoclinic]

Though I love Phillips, I think the concerns are fairly obvious:

1. Limited experience with time lost to injury; technically still a bit raw.
2. Is his back problem a long term concern?
3. Will he be able to adapt to keep his pad level low?

All legitimate concerns, and hopefully they will keep his draft stock within reason.

 

[midwestpatsfan]

Thanks Mayo,
Now that the season is over, I plan on rewatching and starting to stack by position and DT is where I decided to start, so the guys you mentioned above are on this list to hit heavy this week.
I think a combo of Phillips and Easley could be special in a couple of years. Like you, I hope that the injury concerns and his height frighten teams off for him to fall.
The other thing to keep in mind is the trend of DT falling in the past couple of drafts. Phillips is a little different because he can do more than take up space, but I could realistically see a scenario where he fell some.
It would have been nice if there were some more QB's in this class to push down some of these players.

 

[manxman2601]

Philips might be the most confusing prospect I've scoured so far in this draft. He has legitimate athleticism as mentioned by Mayo and his ability to make game impacting plays is apparent and yet, he's so often successfully single blocked and in the Texas Tech game Made four "what are you doing?" plays. I'm going to need to give Philips some thought.

 

[midwestpatsfan]

Manx,
I see those things from a little different perspective. He just does not have a lot of experience. His hand use has to be worked on and he lacks play awareness. The physical traits are so tempting.

 

[mayoclinic]

Philips might be the most confusing prospect I've scoured so far in this draft. He has legitimate athleticism as mentioned by Mayo and his ability to make game impacting plays is apparent and yet, he's so often successfully single blocked and in the Texas Tech game Made four "what are you doing?" plays. I'm going to need to give Philips some thought.

It will be interesting to see where Phillips ends up. The things you note are legitimate, and good reasons why he could be a 2nd round pick. But the size and athleticism are rare and he has great upside, so I think he will go higher. I'm not sure Dontari Poe was much more developed when he came out in 2012.

 

[kennyb]

He reminds me of the guy that could jump out of a pool. Whatever happened to him?

 

[mayoclinic]

He reminds me of the guy that could jump out of a pool. Whatever happened to him?

Jarren Gilbert. Early 3rd round pick in 2009. Was a bust. Why does Phillips remind you of Gilbert? He's 80# heavier and plays NT.

 

[kennyb]

Jarren Gilbert. Early 3rd round pick in 2009. Was a bust. Why does Phillips remind you of Gilbert? He's 80# heavier and plays NT.

Gilbert was about 285. This guy is 365? Doesn't look it.

Great athletic ability. Gilbert was more productive though.

 

[mayoclinic]

Gilbert was about 285. This guy is 365? Doesn't look it.

Great athletic ability. Gilbert was more productive though.

No, he's about 335 (my mistake) - still considerably bigger.

 

[mayoclinic]

Alabama DE/DT Jarran Reed is reportedly coming out. 6'4" 315#, with a lot of athleticism and versatility. It's early, but he could work his way into the top-50 DT mix as well.

 

[mayoclinic]

Manx,
I see those things from a little different perspective. He just does not have a lot of experience. His hand use has to be worked on and he lacks play awareness. The physical traits are so tempting.

Having watched all 3 clips of Phillips on DraftBreakdown, I'm very tempted by those "physical traits". Everything that he lacks is fixable with coaching. If his back checks out and he seems to have the requesting drive to succeed, I'd rate him extremely highly.

From the one clip on DraftBreakdown of Malcolm Brown, I wasn't that impressed. He doesn't seem to have the athleticism or disruptive capability of Phillips. It's only one clip, and I'm waiting for others, particularly the Arkansas game where he was reportedly a beast.

 

[manxman2601]

Having watched all 3 clips of Phillips on DraftBreakdown, I'm very tempted by those "physical traits". Everything that he lacks is fixable with coaching. If his back checks out and he seems to have the requesting drive to succeed, I'd rate him extremely highly.

From the one clip on DraftBreakdown of Malcolm Brown, I wasn't that impressed. He doesn't seem to have the athleticism or disruptive capability of Phillips. It's only one clip, and I'm waiting for others, particularly the Arkansas game where he was reportedly a beast.

The problems I saw might be fixable with coaching but they were fairly serious and involved overrunning plays, not hustling for the tackle, being blocked by a center on his own and more. I'm sold on the combination of his athleticism/size but I was concerned. Normally I find I can watch a player and get a pretty good feel for him almost straight away but watching Phillips left me confused and worth a rewatch.

 

[mayoclinic]

The problems I saw might be fixable with coaching but they were fairly serious and involved overrunning plays, not hustling for the tackle, being blocked by a center on his own and more. I'm sold on the combination of his athleticism/size but I was concerned. Normally I find I can watch a player and get a pretty good feel for him almost straight away but watching Phillips left me confused and worth a rewatch.

If you rewatch film of Phillips, I would be interested where in those clips you saw those issues. They didn't jump out at me. I saw pretty consistent effort, terrific speed and agility for a big man, and generally doing a decent job against double teams. I saw a couple of bad moments, but fairly few and far between. I trust your eyes, and it doesn't surprise me that he has some technical issues that need to be worked on.

 

[manxman2601]

If you rewatch film of Phillips, I would be interested where in those clips you saw those issues. They didn't jump out at me. I saw pretty consistent effort, terrific speed and agility for a big man, and generally doing a decent job against double teams. I saw a couple of bad moments, but fairly few and far between. I trust your eyes, and it doesn't surprise me that he has some technical issues that need to be worked on.

I'll bookmark or gif them later when I can get to a computer but there were four specific plays in the Texas Tech game.

1. There was a play where he chased about thirty yards downfield after a ball carrier which was excellent. But as another tackler made the tackle, Phillips just ran straight past the play. He was lucky because the defender almost missed the tackle and had he done so, Phillips, who had been in position to clean up had ran himself out of being able to do so.

2. There was another play where he was being blocked by two linemen and he just flops to the floor. It could have been a tangle of legs or the result of the double team but it really looked to me as though Phillips was trying to cut block both linemen.

3. On two consecutive plays near the sideline, rather than hustle to make a tackle, Phillips made a conscious decision to try to block offensive players.

I think the first example is probably an issue of oil tanker syndrome - that Phillips is explosive in a straight line but struggles with COD athleticism. In examples 2 and 3, that could be part of his coaching and I can understand that, but my reaction for all four instances at the time was WTF! And not in a good way and that bothered me. But out of respect to you and in fairness to him, I want to take another look.

Edit: him being constantly single blocked by a center in the TCU game also bothered me but again I want to rewatch that because it might have been a scheme thing.