2023 NFL Draft: Would Clark Phillips Fit the Jaguars' Need at Cornerback?
The 2023 NFL Draft season is upon us.
Among the 32 teams building their rosters to compete for the next Lombardi Trophy is the Jacksonville Jaguars, who hold nine picks in this season’s draft -- including the No. 24 overall pick.
As we march closer and closer to April’s draft, we will look at individual draft prospects and how they would potentially fit with the Jaguars. Instead of looking at any negatives, we are going to look at what the players do well and if they could match what the Jaguars need at the specific role or position.
Next up: Utah cornerback Clark Phillips.
Overview
A big-time get for the Utah football program in the 2020 class, Phillips was ranked by 247Sports as a four-star recruit. The California native was the No. 51 recruit in the country, the No. 6 cornerback, and the No. 6 recruit in the state of California -- a ranking that would have been higher were it not for Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud.
Clark received over 30 offers out of high school, including significant interest from Ohio State, USC, and Cal. Other programs that offered him include Alabama, Clemson, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Penn State, Texas, and Tennessee.
Phillips started all five of Utah's games as a true freshman, recording 25 tackles (2.0 TFL), a fumble recovery and three passes defended (one interception, two pass breakups) which included a pick-six.
Phillips started 14 more games as a sophomore, leading the Pac-12 in pass breakups (13), along with two interceptions, two forced fumbles, and a tackle for loss, leading to him earning Pac-12 All-Conference and AP All-Pac-12 second team honors.
Phillips had his best year as a junior, starting 12 games and being tied for the most interceptions in the Power 5 with six, which included two pick-sixes. He also recorded five pass breakups, two tackles for loss, and a sack. As a result, he was named a Unanimous All-American, the 2022 AP Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, and a 2022 Pac-12 All-Conference First Team (Coaches and AP) member, while also being named a finalist for the 2022 Jim Thorpe Award and a semifinalist for the Chuck Bednarik Award.
What Clark Phillips Does Well
For a player whose production improved every single year, Phillips was incredibly polished by the end of his college career. He often proved to be a quarterback's worst enemy thanks to his high-level football IQ and feel for the game and position. In terms of being ready to be an NFL cover corner from Day 1, there shouldn't be many questions about the instinctive and competitive cornerback.
Phillips' incredibly high level of on-ball production is a direct result of all of these traits. He has the tenacity to stick with receivers throughout every phase of their route, challenging them at the line of scrimmage with a gnat-like mentality. He is able to draw the ire of wide receivers, frequently getting into their heads with his aggressive and tenacious style of play.
Phillips is at his best driving down on routes and the football, playing with his eyes on the quarterback and feeling the route underneath him. He has a twitchy drive-and-close when breaking on the football and is genuinely elite at playing the ball through his hands and getting his hands around the frame of a receiver to knock the ball out, even with his lack of length. Combine this with his ball skills and instincts, and he has traits that should make any quarterback weary of testing him underneath.
Phillips has the mindset to make an impact as a tackler and against the run as well, never being afraid to fit on the edge and fill the alley. He doesn't have the size, strength or length to be a non-concern in this area, but he at least has the mindset to be physical and play with his body on the line as opposed to being small and passive, which would be a major red flag.
How Clark Phillips Would Fit With the Jaguars
With the Jaguars facing some serious questions at cornerback entering the 2023 offseason, it isn't hard to imagine Clark Phillips could be seen as a potential answer. The Jaguars saw a lot of him on tape last year when breaking down Devin Lloyd, after all, and Phillips has the production and durability the Jaguars value at cornerback.
Where Phillips would fit is the bigger question. Most of his 31 career starts came at outside cornerback, but his lack of size, length and speed makes it a questionable fit for him at the next level. Luckily for the Jaguars, where they need the most help in 2023 is in the slot.
The Jaguars are in dire need of answers in the slot in 2023. Darious Williams was an extremely effective and efficient cover man during the final stretch of the season when the Jaguars moved him to outside cornerback, but his numbers among slot cornerbacks through the first 13 weeks of the season are not kind to him. He allowed the fourth-most yards, fourth-most yards after catch, and seventh-most catches among all slot corners in that span, with the Jaguars coming to the conclusion by the end of the year that his true home is on the outside.
While Phillips doesn't have the size to be trusted outside consistently, his experience and production in the role should at least give the Jaguars and other NFL teams hope that he could play outside in a pinch if needed. For a team that needs multiple cornerbacks like the Jaguars, Phillips could be attractive.
Verdict
Phillips is one of the better natural cover guys in this class, but there are reasons to be concerned about his NFL projection. Being 5-foot-9 and 184 pounds with sub-30" arms and a 4.51 40-yard dash makes it tough to justify him in the top-32 -- there simply aren't many cornerbacks who beat those odds.
With that said, 30 combined pass breakups and interceptions in three years doesn't just happen by accident. Phillips projects as an effective cover nickel corner, but not one who will likely go top-50 based on his measurables. Targeting Phillips in the third round makes sense, though.
For all of our 2023 NFL Draft profiles, click below.
