New York Jets’ 2019 season in review: Kyle Phillips

Nania's All-22 takes a deep dive on New York Jets defensive lineman Kyle Phillips 2019 season with film and numbers galore. Career recap: The New York Jets signed Kyle Phillips as an undrafted free agent out of Tennessee following the 2019 NFL Draft. Despite a decently productive final season with the Volunteers (55 tackles, seven for loss, four sacks, four passes defended, one interception, and one blocked kick), Phillips was not selected, largely due to his age (turned 24 in October) and numerous deficiencies related to technique and awareness that showed up on tape. 2019 expectations: With the Jets severely lacking talent on the edge, Phillips had a golden opportunity to separate himself from the crowd of mediocre players competing at the position. Jordan Jenkins and Brandon Copeland were roster locks, but the depth behind those two was a major question mark. Phillips would be battling against unproven players such as Bronson Kaufusi, Tarell Basham, Frankie Luvu, Harvey Langi, and Jamey Mosley for a spot in the rotation — a favorable opportunity for an undrafted free agent. After generating little noise through the media waves in training camp, Phillips broke out in the preseason. He led the team in run stops (five) and tied Tarell Basham for the team lead in pressures (seven). Phillips made a strong case for a roster spot in the preseason finale against Philadelphia, recording two sacks, a quarterback hit, and three tackles for no gain or a loss in the run game. Versatility was a huge plus displayed by Phillips throughout the preseason. After primarily playing the 5 and 4i-techniques at Tennessee, he took on a wide array of roles while auditioning for Gregg Williams, and showcased the potential to contribute positively in many of them. Here, Phillips records a sack on Clayton Thorson from the wide-nine. Phillips made the opening-week roster, starting the season on the inactive list for the Week 1 clash against Buffalo. Following a slew of injuries in that game, Phillips was set to make his NFL debut against Cleveland in Week 2. At this point, it already felt like the sky was falling on the Jets' season. Any sliver of hope that Phillips could provide would be warmly welcomed. Positives: Phillips would appear in all 15 games after being activated for Week 2, as he immediately became a key part of the defensive front. He played 550 defensive snaps over the course of the season (36.7 per game, 52.6% of team's defensive snaps on average), ninth-most among all Jets defenders and third-most on the defensive line behind Jenkins (573) and Basham (594). The Jets did a fantastic job in run defense throughout the season, ranking second in DVOA. Phillips was one of the primary driving forces behind that success, as he was able to make a profound impact against the run in his debut season. Phillips earned a run defense grade of 76.6 from Pro Football Focus, which ranked 17th out of 92 qualified edge defenders (84th percentile). The rookie had a knack for making plays in the backfield, tying for third at his position with 16 tackles for no gain or a loss in the run game. On many of those plays, Phillips was not the player responsible for the penetration that created the negative yardage, but he was the one who finished the job. His motor was fantastic throughout the season, and the main reason he was able to collect so many stops behind the line. Here, the two guards collide while attempting to pull, which gives Blake Cashman a clear lane to meet Leonard Fournette in the backfield. Cashman misses the tackle, as do Jordan Willis and Brian Poole after him, but Phillips keeps his legs churning and tracks down Fournette from behind before he can break loose. Loss of three for Jacksonville. Phillips had three tackles for loss against Jacksonville, becoming the first Jets rookie to accomplish that since Sheldon Richardson in 2013. The largest of those three, a seven-yard stop against Fournette, is seen here. Once again, it was a stop predicated on hustle. James Burgess makes the stop happen by beating the outside tight end's kick-out block, but he misses the tackle. Phillips easily disengages the block of the in-line tight end, and pursues Fournette from behind for the massive seven-yard stuff on 2nd & Goal from the one-yard line. Phillips is a sound tackler, rarely whiffing on an opportunity to make a play. He was credited with zero missed tackles in the passing game (one of only six qualified edge defenders), and missed on just 6.4% of tackle chances in the run game, 17th-best at the position. He does a good job of timing his block sheds, consistently separating from his blocker at the perfect time to make a play as the back is about to pass by. Here, Phillips lines up as the 4i-technique, and gets good penetration against two-time All-Pro right guard David DeCastro. He fluidly disengages the block and makes a clean diving stop on James Conner for a one-yard loss. This time, Phillips is standing up on the play side edge against an outside zone run. He holds his ground exceptionally well against 345-pound Pro Bowler Orlando Brown, tightening his elbows and landing a strong punch into Brown's chest that knocks him back about two yards. Phillips then peels off and wraps up Mark Ingram to record a stop for no gain, bringing up 3rd & 4. Also, take note of Steve McLendon's dominant rep. Adding into Phillips' versatility, he was dropped into coverage relatively frequently. Williams dropped Phillips into coverage 25 times, which ranked 45th among edge defenders. Phillips held up solidly on those reps, allowing a 36-yard catch to Miles Sanders on a wheel route in Week 5, but not being targeted otherwise. He earned a 61.5 coverage grade from PFF, which ranked 36th out of 92 qualifiers at his position. Negatives: Phillips was great against the run, but he brought little as a pass-rusher. He rushed the quarterback 268 times, which ranked 69th among edge defenders, but recorded just 16 total pressures, which ranked 102nd. Phillips recorded a pass-rush productivity score (per-snap pressure rate with greater weight to sacks) of 3.5. That was the worst mark among the 79 edge defenders with at least 250 pass-rush snaps. Over two games against Miami's league-worst offensive line, Phillips failed to earn credit for even a single pressure. On this play, Phillips has a golden opportunity to create pressure. He lines up out wide opposite right tackle Jesse Davis, who allowed the eighth-most pressures (42) among tackles in 2019. At the snap, Davis' attention is directed inside, as he is awaiting the possibility of a stunt upfront. This gives Phillips an advantage, but he is unable to capitalize on it. He fails to stay tight around the corner and runs himself too wide without a counter move. Phillips could throw an outside rip or try to bull Davis straight into the pocket, but seems to be indecisive about what to do, throwing a weak jab and getting pushed up the arc. 2020 expectations: All Phillips needs to do is continue to perform at the level he did in 2019. That would be more than enough value to get from an undrafted free agent. He is a versatile edge defender who provides positive value against the run, on the strength of a great motor and good tackling consistency. While he has a humongous amount of room for improvement as a pass-rusher, the Jets need to find better players to lead that facet of the defense anyway. If Phillips ranks top-five on the team in pass-rush snaps again in 2020, then Joe Douglas and company did not do a good enough job of upgrading the edge rush. Phillips was a great find by the Mike Maccagnan-led front office. He is the prototype role player. If a team can get even just one of those out of an undrafted free agent class, it is a job well done.