NFL Draft 2018 Scouting Report: DT Harrison Phillips, Stanford

*DL grades can and will change as more information comes in from Pro Day workouts, leaked Wonderlic test results, etc. We will update ratings as new info becomes available.

When I did my Vita Vea (who is, according to the pundits, the top DT prospect in the draft) scouting studies and report, I posited that football people were pushing Vea because he just seemed like he was supposed to be good, even though, for his physical tools, he has shown very little production. Harrison Phillips is the oppositeof that.  He’s getting disrespected because “He just doesn’t look like a great DT.”

Vita Vea looks like you created a defensive tackle in a video game (a 347 pound Samoan monster) …but his actual play is kind of ineffective/mediocre, and his output shows this. Harrison Phillips does not look like what the analysts want, so they ignore his radical production and great play and just downgrade him…for ‘not looking like he’s supposed to’.

Give me the guy that can actually play (Phillips)…you take the guy who looks the part but doesn’t act it…at all (Vea).  

They denigrate Phillips by saying, “He looks like an offensive guard, not a defensive tackle.” Another knock I saw…probably the stupidest one…and it was from an NFL scout (which makes sense) – “He’ll never be able to run a stunt for you.” You know what…what the hell are you talking about?

Which DTs are masters at stunting? How many DT stunts do you run in a game? I want DT prospects who can surge and slice through defenders and get to ballcarriers/backfield and can play effectively for 50+ snaps a game. You go get the supposed athletic guy to run a stunt that probably never works, I’ll take the guy whoactually makes an impact at the position on almost every snap.

Here’s the list of DT prospects from our decade of tracking who weighed 300+ pounds, averaged over 1.0 TFLs and over 6.0 tackles per game in their best college seasons…

Kenrick Ellis, Hampton

Nadamukong Suh, Nebraska

Casey Hampton, Texas

Danny Shelton, Washington

Harrison Phillips, Stanford

People will say Phillips is just not a good enough athlete because he ran a 5.21 40-time, but then they’ll ignore that he had the best three-cone and short shuttle time of any 300+ pound DL prospect at the Combine, and led the entire Combine with 42 bench reps. Phillips is strong and deceptively shifty making his way through cracks between the O-Line…both of which are huge things you want in your defensive tackle in a 4-3 set up.

I watched Phillips on tape, and he definitely doesn’t jump out as a DT who looks good chasing people in the open field…but that’s not your main goal with a DT prospect. The more you watch, the more you see Phillips either slithering through a double team or holding up his blocker, reading the situation and then shedding the block to make a run game tackler.

Phillips may not be an all-timer, but he’s really good and has physical attributes scouts are ignoring so they can whine about ‘tight hips’ or ‘pad levels’. Phillips is a bull and has very good feet…he makes plays. Phillips looks good making tackles or pressures. Vita Vea looks good in shorts and a t-shirt at the Combine. Take your preference…the NFL always prefers ‘he looks like…’ versus ‘he is’.

Not only is Phillips a sound DT prospect, but he’s a great person to bring into the organization. An all-academic PAC-12 performer, at Stanford, and a multiple award winner for all his charitable works. A team captain and a dedicated athlete and proven performer. You could argue ‘A’ or ‘B’ or ‘C’ grade but he’ll never be an ‘F’.

Harrison Phillips, Through the Lens of Our DT Scouting Algorithm:

Phillips registered 6 games with 2.0 or more TFLs in a game in his career. Vita Vea and DaRon Payne, a.k.a. the media’s #1 and #2 ranked DT prospects…they never had one game with 2.0 or more TFLs in a game.

Vea and Payne combined for 20.0 TFLs in their careers total…Phillips posted 29.0 TFLs himself.

Vea and Payne have 12.0 sacks combined for their careers…Phillips 16.5.

Vea had zero QB hurries registered last season, per cfb stats website, but not sure it’s accurate – they showed Phillips had six.

Note that Phillips, just like Vea, played a PAC-12 schedule.

Phillips led the PAC-12 in assisted tackles.  That can be a bit of a red flag – some guys constantly get to the ballcarrier late, and jump on to run up tackle counts from assisted tackles, but in Phillips’ instance, I saw him just getting to plays in the interior that I didn’t think he’d get to. He always seems to be around the ballcarrier on the interior.

2018 NFL Combine…

6’3.2”/307, 10.38” hands, 33.87” arms

5.21 40-yard, 1.79 10-yard, 4.50 shuttle, 7.28 three-cone

42 bench press reps, 32.0” vertical, 8’7” broad jump

*We show 13 DT prospects over 300+ pounds who were able to post a sub-7.30 three-cone…Phillips is one of them. It’s not a leading indicator…but just points out his athleticism.

The Historical DT Prospects to Whom Harrison Phillips Most Compares Within Our System:

Honestly, none of these comparisons really work because Phillips is the most unusual DT prospect, algorithm-wise, that we’ve seen in a while. A slower 40-time, but stellar agility times and terrific production and weightlifter strength. 

We tried to run several attribute comparisons and the one name that always hung around with Phillips…Ndamukong Suh. I’m not saying he’s Suh-like, but the computer thinks their play/results were a lot alike, and some of their movement skills and size. 

*A score of 8.00+ is where we see a stronger correlation of DTs going on to become NFL good/great/elite. A score of 10.00+ is more rarefied air in our system and indicates a greater probability of becoming an NFL elite DT.

All of the DT ratings are based on a 0–10 scale, but a player can score negative, or above a 10.0 in certain instances.

Power-Strength Metrics = A combination of several measurements. An attempt to classify the DT prospect as more of a battle-in-the-trenches type of DT, and/or a DT prospect who has nose tackle capabilities.

Speed-Agility Metrics = A combination of several speed, agility, size measurements. A unique measuring system to look for DTs who profile for quickness, and/or a DT prospect who might have some DE capabilities.

Pass-Rusher Rating = A combination of physical measurables, and college performance, graded historically for future NFL profiling. In the simplest of terms, this is an attempt to classify whether a particular DT is likely to achieve high sack totals in the NFL. We know the ‘system’/scheme the DT goes on to play in has a part in future success...but so do the player’s skills and performance history.

Tackling Rating = A combination of physical measurables, and college performance, graded historically for future NFL profiling. In the simplest of terms, this is an attempt to classify the DT as one more likely to be involved in a heavy amount of tackles, tackles for a loss, and forced fumbles. Lower scoring DTs in this sub-category tend to be more pure ‘pluggers’, and not as active on the stat sheet. It also gives some insight of the ‘toughness’ of a player, if it is possible to quantify that (this is our attempt to).

NT Profile = This is an attempt to show which of these DT prospects has a profile to become a pure nose tackle/‘space-eater’ in the middle. It is not a 1–10 scale rating of a prospect’s skill/profile, it’s an attempt to point us in a direction of what this DT can be useful as (or not). Some DT prospects will grade off the charts on the NT profile, essentially a worst-case scenario of “put him in the middle and just let him be a wall.” There is NFL value in that ‘ability’.

2018 NFL Draft Outlook:

Phillips is tracking a #50-100 pick projection. He should go closer to top 40 but he’ll likely fall past 70. He shouldn’t, but I suspect he will.

If I were an NFL GM, I have my eye on Phillips as he falls past pick #50. He’s going to wind up being a great value pick in this draft.

NFL Outlook:   

He’ll go to a smart team, hopefully, and he’ll be one of those players that never gets respect but is an anchor for a good defense for years. A football player’s football player.

4/3/2018