Chiefs Priority Breakdown: DT Harrison Phillips

 

 

 

It’s getting down the the nitty-gritty over at One Arrowhead Way and we here at ArrowheadOne are grinding on the same issues. While many fans and pundits alike have named prospects like DTs B.J. Hill or Tim Settle as a players that they’d like to see the Kansas City Chiefs draft, I’ll take Harrison Phillips out of Stanford over them all day long… if he’s available when the Chiefs pick at #54..

 

Before getting into my form of evaluation, you should know that I see the combine week like a get-away weekend in Vegas where you might fall in love with the girl you’re dating but… you’d never make the lifetime decision on whether or not she’d make a good wife based on that kind of wistful tryst. So, yes, I place 99% of my opinion based on a player’s game tape and not highlight reels or combine performances.

 

I’ll be using several categories to focus on and grading on a scale of 1-to-100 (hard to get away from the “1-to-100” set-up after 39 years of teaching) for how good a defensive tackle might be. Those categories include:

 

 

 

Size and Mobility Score: 77

Q: Is the DT big enough, or mobile enough, to make a difference?

Harrison Phillips is 6-foot-4, weighs 307 lbs and had an incredible 42 reps on the bench press at the combine (I know, I know… now I’m quoting combine numbers… but just remember, it only means he kisses real good). By the way, Dontari Poe had 44 reps at the combine but he weighed 346… or 39 pounds more than Phillips. While Phillips might need to pack on some pounds before he could reach the height of his potential as an inside presence on the interior of a defensive line in the NFL, he has other skills which can help him survive beside pure “physical presence.”

 

 

 

LOS Explosion Score: 81

Q: How fast, or quickly, does a DT get off of the line of scrimmage?

Harrison Phillips is not overly explosive off the line of scrimmage. That’s not his game. He’s more of a read-and-react kind of player. He has the quicks to do this or get better at it or in the case of some schemes, he may be asked to penetrate quickly and in that case, he has the ability to get off quickly.

 

Depth of Penetration Score: 91

Q: How deep is a DT able to get on each play to apply pressure on the QB or the RB? How disruptive is  DT?

In 2017, Harrison Phillips had 98 total tackles, 17.0 tackles for a loss and 7.5 sacks. Those numbers are outstanding and this shows a player who is consistent and doesn’t take plays off while attempting to get perpetration on each and every play.

 

 

 

 

Lateral Agility/Integrity Score: 83

Q: Can a DT slide sideways without losing depth or creating a hole for the RB/QB to slip through?

Phillips can slide with great ease. His problem is that when he’s double-teamed as a running play moves laterally, he can get washed out of the play and even knocked to the ground and trampled. Although he can slide sideways, his forte is slipping blocks to free himself. That doesn’t always work when you’re defending the running game.

 

 

 

 

Punch and Power Score: 93

Q: How well does a DT over-power an OL by either punching him or over-powering him?

Harrison Phillips had 42 reps on the bench press. He doesn’t look like he’s overwhelming offensive linemen with his power when you first look at his tape but he often can be seen freeing himself at the end of plays to make the tackle. That’s why he had 98 tackles (which is unheard of for an interior DL… Dontari Poe had 41 total tackles in his best year at Memphis against lesser competition).

 

Maintaining Low Leverage Score: 94 

Q: How often does a DT stay lower than the OL who is blocking him?

Phillips can not only get low but rise up to get a hand on the ball as the passer is passing. This not only comes from awareness as a play progresses but his ability to perpetrate and get under an OL-man’s pads then free himself with a push-off (or punch) then rising up to block a pass. Phillips also blocked a field goal last year. Phillips experience in high school as a wrestler helps him win many one-on-one battle in the trenches. It’s the double-teams that can sometimes stump him. He’s been criticized for having a high center of gravity but I think he’s seems to be summing up his competition and playing to his optimal height.

 

Keeping Your Hands High Score: 94

Q: How often does a DT get his hands up high to block a pass?

[See above.]

 

 

Read-with-Speed Score: 95

Q: How well does a DT “see” and move towards the QB or RB (vision)? How aware is a DT of the coming play (instincts) usually witnessed as an early arrival (blow-up).

This may be Harrison Phillips strength. He often finds himself in the middle of the RB’s path or slipping the block of an offensive lineman only to find himself smack dab on top of 4he QB. Phillips has stated,

 

“The physical — the hips, hands, fluidity, balance, things like that — that helps but, there’s also the mentality part.”

 

Harrison Phillips also talks about a phrase that Stanford coach David Shaw has coined, “intellectual brutality” and adds,

 

“That’s actually how I play. I’m very intellectual and anticipate plays. Then when it comes down to it, I want to be violent and brutal.”

 

Leverage Skills Score: 95

Q: How much use does a DT make of: hand-to-hand combat skills, wrestlers finesse moves, or a multiplicity of in-the-pocket moves?

While being a smart and clever DT, Phillips was the state Champion in wrestling three years straight and the National Champion in his weight class for four years running. Yes, he knows something about leverage and winning each battle placed in front of him. Both of my brothers wrestled in high school so I know how grueling it can be. Phillips probably thinks playing football is easy: 5-7 seconds of intensity… then 40 seconds (or more) of rest. Not so easy in wrestling. Phillips also has a spin move but it’s his obvious ability to out-wrestle the offensive lineman he’s facing that is his strength.

 

 

 

 

Phillips’ “Get-off” Score: 91

Q: How well does a DT free himself from a blocker’s grasp to make a play?

Harrison Phillips has that great punch that can be witnessed on most plays which he uses at the end of the play in an effort to leave his man behind and go make the tackle. Top notch at doing this.

 

Double-team Score: 79

Q: How well does a DT stand up to the double-team?

Harrison Phillips is probably better suited to DE than he is the nose. Although he says he’d be comfortable playing any position along the line, he has a challenge with double-teams. At 6-foot-4 inches and weighing in somewhere between 285 and 311 (his combine profile has him at 307 lbs.), he’s often not able to withstand the pressure that comes from being tag-teamed by two OL. While I could see the Chiefs rotating him in at the nose, I don’t think he could make his living there.

 

 

 

Phillips’ “Closer” Score: 88

Q: How well does a DT close on the RB or QB?

Phillips can use his punch to push off and then get to the running back or quarterback well enough but he’s not overpowering at the point of attack and I’ve seen RBs wriggle loose. At least HP can slow them down long enough for reinforcements to arrive. He’s not fast to the RB or QB like Justin Houston or even Chris Jones, but he can plug a hole and force a ballcarrier another direction.

 

Feet and Balance Score: 92

Q: How well does a DT continue to move his feet? How fast and choppy (that’s good) are their feet as the OL tries to knock them off their feet?

You know I’m all about the feet… those choppy little steps are so important. It takes a lot of strength in your legs to do that over and over again for the period of a whole game. While Phillips does have good feet, he has even greater balance. That balance likely comes from learning how to leverage his opponent when he was a wrestler. In any event, he often uses his balance to knock the offensive lineman off their feet, or cause them to lose their balance. It’s an under-rated skill but Phillips has it in aces. Pair that ability with better than average feet, and you have a winner. It’s just one of the reasons I’d like tho see the Chiefs pursue him.

 

Harrison Phillips’ “Pursuit” Score: 83

Q: Does a DT play and pursue to the whistle?

I’ve seen Phillips take parts of plays off… if it looks to him like the play is going down the field. Maybe I’m nit-picking but to me, it just looks like he’s not going all-out at times. Probably not… but I don’t like the appearance of it. For a big burly guy, I suppose that’s par for the course these days but I don’t like it. I think Phillips is a better wrestler than he is athlete and although “running” is not what playing DT is all about, I prefer to see a big guy running full boar all the time.

 

 

 

Personality, IQ and Rep Score: 94

Q: How well is a DT thought of by his teammates? How good is a player off the field? Does the DT win with his smarts?

Harrison Phillips comes off as a very well educated and smart player, on and off the field. He was a Pac-12 Academic first team pick. He graduated early with a double-major: Science of Technology and Sociology. Phillips also got a minor in education and served on the board of a program mentoring at-risk minority kids. Since I know Andy Reid likes those kinds of guys, he may be in the cross-hairs for the Chiefs already.

 

 

Conclusions on Harrison Phillips

CBS Sports has Phillips ranked as the #43 best prospect… but… Sports Illustrated has him ranked at #63 and DrafTek has him at #58… so… there’s a chance he’d be available when the Chiefs select at #54. I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see him gone by the 40th pick, in the draft which is not deep in quality defensive linemen.

 

Harrison Phillips best position is probably at defensive end. With Phillips at right defensive end and Chris Jones on the other side, the Chiefs defensive front could be solid. Since Dee Ford is coming back, and we know he is challenged on running plays, Harrison Phillips presence would help, because one of his strengths is “setting the edge.”

 

Harrison Phillips reminds me of Kelly Gregg who was also a wrestler and played his last year with K.C. in 2011. Gregg’s ability to manipulate and move OL around — most of whom were much bigger than him — came from his history in wrestling as well. Eleven years is a long time for a defensive tackle but that exactly how long Gregg played in the NFL. I think Harrison Phillips could be around that long too. Maybe with the Chiefs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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