The Miami Dolphins used their second first-round pick on Jaelan Phillips and it seems as if he’s going to play a key role right away for Brian Flores’ team.
Edge rusher Jaelan Phillips finally lived up to his former 5-star recruit pedigree with the Miami Hurricanes in the 2020 season after transferring from UCLA. But after the season, despite entering his name in the NFL Draft, he moved all his belongings back home to California. In a turn of irony, though, the Miami Dolphins essentially told him to move them back again when they drafted Phillips at No. 18 overall.
Regardless of how many times he has to move his things between Miami and California, though, Phillips is going to play a key role for the Dolphins right away. When the team traded Shaq Lawson this offseason, they tipped their hand a bit that they were looking to get younger and more explosive off the edge. And Phillips is the perfect player for that.
Though he truly had only one year with elite film after a tumultuous stint at UCLA and flirtation with retirement, Phillips was this year’s draft class’s best overall blend of athleticism, polish and burst. Put simply, it was obvious why he was so highly touted coming out of high school.
But with that, some might assume that he’s going to have a big learning curve in the NFL. That may be true in some aspects but, overall, he’s going to play a crucial role right away and will only see that expand as the season wears on.
Jaelan Phillips’ versatility and athleticism will allow him to thrive early and grow his role as the season goes on.
Stemming from his time with the Patriots, Dolphins head coach Brian Flores values versatility with his edge rushers. And according to Cameron Wolfe of ESPN (subscription required), Phillips checks those boxes as he clearly displayed the tools this offseason to operate effectively as both a stand-up outside linebacker in a 3-4 front or as a defensive end in the 4-3 looks.
With that said, it does seem as if Miami is going to work him into that role as the season goes on, not just throw him into the fire immediately. Instead, it appears as if Phillips will see most of his looks as a stand-up pass-rusher rather than with his hand in the dirt. That makes sense given his body type and where he’s most effective right now.
Bringing him along in this manner will accomplish two things. First, it will allow Phillips to fill out his frame to be better suited for the NFL with his hand in the dirt. More importantly, though, he will provide an instant answer for Miami’s pass rush, which is crucial. They need to get more consistent effective pressure without blitzing and Phillips is a player who can do that.
From everything we’re hearing, Phillips is on track to be 100 percent the player we expected him to be. His ability to get after the passer explosively will be seen early on and we’ll only see more of him throughout the 18-week season and 17 games. And if the promise tells us anything, the rookie is only going to garner more attention as his role grows.