Dru

Phillips

The Giants would surely love to have Phillips, the promising young slot cornerback, available against Seahawks slot receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Backup CB Adoree’ Jackson (calf) is also listed as questionable for the game.

Phillips and rotational backup CB Adoree’ Jackson (calf) will both miss the Giants divisional showdown on Thursday. The development leaves a thin secondary even more short-staffed. The Cowboys’ passing game should have a fruitful fantasy football outing.

A state champion triple-jumper in high school, Phillips (5’106/190) followed in his linebacker father Carlos’ footsteps by attending Kentucky. He didn’t see much of the field during his first two autumns in Lexington, but that changed in 2022 when he played 257-of-363 reps in the box/slot and allowed completions on 15-of-32 targets for just 120 yards on the year. This season he played 426-of-710 snaps outside, with 223 reps coming from the slot. He struggled giving up completions on 39-of-58 targets for 438 yards and a four-to-zero TD/INT ratio, resulting in five PBU with a passable 72nd percentile PFF defensive grade. He struggled bringing down ball carriers by producing a 23% missed tackle rate despite 24 stops in run support. Phillips earned a Senior Bowl invite before running a solid 4.48s 40-yard dash (76th%) and 6.98s three-Cone (63rd%). He showed out in the jumping tests with 99th percentile marks in the vertical (42”) and broad (11’03’) for an 8.13 Relative Athletic Score. A tenacious competitor who brings a physicality to his game, Phillips has one season of full-time starting reps and extensive slot experience.

Phillips is “Another nice out-of-state get for Kentucky” who committed in late April. The Mauldin, South Carolina native, is the 15th-ranked player in the state of Carolina and chose Kentucky over Appalachian State, Coastal Carolina, Colorado, and East Carolina among others.