WREAKING HAVOC ON THE RUSH
Rookie Jaelan Phillips is emerging as a force on the pass rush with 6.5 sacks and getting better by the week.
When NBC lead NFL analyst Cris Collinsworth sat down to watch tape of former Miami Hurricanes star Jaelan Phillips before the NFL Draft, he wasn’t just impressed. He was bowled over.
“By the time you got to the second half of his last season, you went: Oh my God, this guy is going to wreak havoc in the NFL,” Collinsworth said. “He plays with violence, he has multiple moves, he has spin moves. ... He’s one of the best athletes. … I’m going to be stunned if this guy does not end up not just a good player, [but] an NFL star. I thought he was the best defensive player in this draft.”
On Sunday, Phillips delivered visual evidence that Collinsworth’s assessment might end up being validated.
Phillips’ three-sack eruption against Carolina was just one game, but it continued a pattern of growth for the 18th-overall pick.
“He had a game for the ages,” NFL Network analyst Brian Baldinger said. “He was rushing from all over the field. He’s getting chipped, he’s getting doubled” and still got to the quarterback. “His spin ... was almost sack No. 4.”
Phillips opened his media availability on Monday by crediting teammates for helping set up those three sacks.
“Without them, it wouldn’t have been possible,” he said. “The first sack, Duke Riley and Christian Wilkins flushed Cam Newton out. The next sack, Zach Sieler flushed P.J. Walker out, and then the next one, ‘Gink’ [Andrew Van Ginkel] helped flush him forward in the pocket. Give a lot of credit to the DBs for giving us time to get to the quarterback and for the other D-linemen for getting pressures to make it happen.”
Beyond the three sacks, Phillips had seven quarterback pressures in 24 pass rushing chances on Sunday.
For the season, he’s now tied