Eagles' DC On New Defensive Star: 'When You Shop At Nordstrom, You Get Good Stuff'

Jaelan Phillips' debut with the Eagles couldn't have gone much better.

Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Jaelan Phillips (50) pressures Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love (10) during the fourth quarter of their game Monday, November 10, 2025 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. | Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

PHILADELPHIA - Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio isn’t the type who is going to hand out extra credit.

However, it’s hard to imagine the veteran coach’s reunion with Jaelan Phillips going much better during Philadelphia’s 10-7 win over Green Bay on Monday night.

The Eagles’ splash at the trade deadline paid immediate dividends in the form of six tackles with one for loss, plus a fumble recovery, two quarterback hits, and six hurries, all while playing 53 defensive reps despite just one week of practice with the Eagles. 

Phillips’ pass-rush win rate against the Packers was 19.4%, the best among Philadelphia’s impressive defensive front.

None of that was a surprise to Fangio, who was Phillips’ DC in Miami when the lengthy edge defender arguably played his best football before a torn Achilles cut things short for the lengthy edge rusher that season.

“That was the intention,” Fangio said when asked about Phillips being throw into the deep end of the pool. “He's been playing all year [with the Dolphins], it's not like he's been inactive.”

Immediate Dividends

Jaelan Phillips at his first Eagles practice on Nov. 6, 2025. | Courtesy of the Philadelphia Eagles

Phillips learning the scheme was also of little concern for the veteran defensive mind. “A lot of carryovers from ‘23,” Fangio explained.

When asked about the trade itself in which GM Howie Roseman sent a 2026 third-round pick to South Florida for Phillips, Fangio was succinct, “All for it.”

Then came the kicker.

“You guys saw it. He plays hard, he's strong at the point, good pass rusher. When you shop at Nordstrom, you get good stuff,” the DC smiled as a nod to Phillips’ physical gifts and his pedigree as the 18th overall pick in 2021.

At nearly 6-foot-6 and 263 brings a different type of presence on the edge for the Eagles.

"It's not so much body type. ... It's the way he plays. He plays big, Fangio said of Phillips.

The end game was Philadelphia adding another talented player to perhaps the most gifted roster in football.

“I think the more good players you have out there, it's going to benefit everybody,” Fangio said. “That's not rocket science. When you get disruptive players, other players fall into plays like on the sack that Jalyx [Hunt] got. I mean Jaelen really made the play, applied the pressure, flushed the quarterback, and Jalyx finished it. 

“So the more players you have that can do that, the better off.”

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