Phillips plays hard every snap, even if it's wasted energy. NFL coaches value that and view it as an opportunity to channel that energy in the right direction. Dontari Poe had 33 tackles, 8 TFLs and 1 sack at Memphis and got drafted 11th overall. Jason Pierre-Paul had one season with 6.5 sacks at USF and went 15th. GMs justified those picks by arguing that they can take their raw activity and physical tools and develop them as pros. In those examples, they were right: both guys made Pro Bowls and are still playing.
No argument regarding your technical critiques of Phillips' game. He's just running around out there. But we've seen this story before. He's shown enough to get drafted Day 2 and, given his age and injury history, will likely take his chances with pro coaches.
In high school, Phillips weighed in at 6'5, 241 and put up these verified numbers: 4.65 40, 4.50 shuttle, 32 vert, 47 power throw, 99th percentile SPARQ. Baker said they expect him to run 4.6 at 270 now. You see the elite power ball in his explosive power, which he combines with naturally big and heavy hands. That’s why he reminds me of Vernon.
The difference between Phillips and Hill, who you mentioned, is that Hill ran a 4.9 at 233 with below average numbers everywhere else. Just a different level of physical tools.
Phillips moves like a safety because he actually played some safety in high school and returned punts for TDs. I’ve seen him go through drills and expect his fluidity in that setting to impress teams. He may project best as a 3-4 OLB.
I hope he comes back and actually develops in college. But I suspect he will go the Vernon/JPP route and save all his sacks for the pros.
