Jacob

Phillips

Phillips is in year three of his four-year rookie contract and was set to play an integral role on the interior for the Browns in 2023. He has missed 20 games over the first two years of his career and will now miss the entirety of his third professional season.

Phillips will make his season debut against the Ravens. The second-year linebacker missed seven games as a rookie and spent the first 13 weeks on IR with an arm injury this year. Cleveland is down a starting linebacker with Anthony Walker (reserve/COVID) sidelined, but Phillips isn’t expected to see a full workload in his first game back.

Cleveland drafted Phillips in the third round but he was slated to rotate in at linebacker while Mack Wilson served as the starter. Wilson underwent knee surgery late in the summer which thrust Phillips into the starting gig. Tae Davis is stepping in at MLB with Cleveland realing at the position.

Phillips (6’3/229) was a two-year starting inside linebacker at LSU who led the SEC in tackles (113) as a junior during the Tigers’ National Championship season. He’s an instinctual player who plugs gaps against the run while remaining in control of his body, but his best trait is his reliable tackling. He finished 5th in PFF’s tackling grade among 460 FBS qualifiers, only missing 5-of-75 potential tackles. He was serviceable in coverage (7.2 YPT allowed) as well, although shiftier NFL players will give him more trouble. Jacobs, a 35th percentile athlete with 4.66 speed, could compete for starting reps on defense but should at least be an asset on special teams given his vision and high-end college production. Phillips just turned 21 years old on draft night.

Phillips (6’3/229) was a two-year starting inside linebacker at LSU who led the SEC in tackles (113) as a junior during the Tigers’ National Championship season. He’s an instinctual player who plugs gaps against the run while remaining in control of his body, but his best trait is his reliable tackling. He finished 5th in PFF’s tackling grade among 460 FBS qualifiers, only missing 5-of-75 potential tackles. He was serviceable in coverage (7.2 YPT allowed) as well, although shiftier NFL players will give him more trouble. Jacobs, a 35th percentile athlete with 4.66 speed, could compete for starting reps on defense but should at least be an asset on special teams given his vision and high-end college production. He will barely be 21 years old on draft night.

Phillips (6’3/229) was a two-year starting inside linebacker at LSU who led the SEC in tackles (113) as a junior during the Tigers’ National Championship season. He’s an instinctual player who plugs gaps against the run while remaining in control of his body, but his best trait is his reliable tackling. He finished 5th in PFF’s tackling grade among 460 FBS qualifiers, only missing 5-of-75 potential tackles. He was serviceable in coverage (7.2 YPT allowed) as well, although shiftier NFL players will give him more trouble. Jacobs, a 35th percentile athlete with 4.66 speed, could compete for starting reps on defense but should at least be an asset on special teams given his vision and high-end college production. He will barely be 21 years old on draft night.

Miller refers to Phillips’ instincts as “raw,” but believes the 6-foot-3, 229-pounder can get by on athletic profile until the more subtle aspects of the position catch up developmentally. At the NFL Scouting Combine, Phillips posted a SPARQ score in the 70th percentile of NFL linebackers. Miller writes that beyond Isaiah Simmons, Kenneth Murray and Patrick Queen, Phillips could have the most upside of any player at the position.

Phillips (6'3/229) wasn’t particularly noteworthy in the 40-yard dash, but it was a different story with his vertical jump of 39 inches, which was shorter than only those of Mississippi State’s Willie Gay Jr. (39.5 inches) and Montana’s Dante Olson. NFL Media’s Lance Zierlein likes Phillips as a special teams/reserve cog but does not see him rising to much more than that once he hits the pros. Zierlein notes that Phillips “lacks the alpha field demeanor and explosive athleticism teams look for.”

It was the first time that Phillips wore a helmet in practices this spring. He also was in a gold, non-contact jersey, which is not a surprise. HC Ed Orgeron has said that Phillips won’t be able to to participate in contact practices until August.

Orgeron did say that Phillips could still run around, so whatever he’s dealing with (which will keep him from contact until August) isn’t a strict impediment to movement. This past season, the 6-foot-4, 229-pounder logged 87 tackles (5.5 for loss), an interception and three passes defensed in 12 games.