Film study: What does CB Andru Phillips bring to the Giants?

Some have questioned his selection in the third round as he isn’t a true outside cornerback

The New York Giants selected cornerback Andru Phillips in the third round (Pick 70) of the 2024 NFL Draft. Phillips is an explosive, smooth-moving athlete who started 16 of 38 games in college. He recorded zero interceptions in his four years on campus, with 10 passes defended and 82 tackles.

In 2023, Phillips played 426 snaps on the outside, 223 in the slot, and 44 in the box. He allowed 39 catches on 58 targets (67.2%) for 438 yards with four touchdowns surrendered. Here are Phillips’ measurables and testing from the Combine:

At his Pro Day, Phillips also ran a 6.98 three-cone and a 4.29 short shuttle and benched 225 pounds 16 times. Here’s my scouting report from early March on Andru Phillips:

Strengths

• Very explosive athlete with excellent short-area quickness
• Very quick feet
• Low squatty stance in backpedal – primed to pounce
• Fluid and controlled as a mover
• Great stride from a variety of alignments (accelerating forward, half turn) – good speed
• Attempts to impose his good physical play strength on WRs early in the rep
• Physical minded
• Very balanced and rangy when moving laterally
• Explosive downward on click & close (Very good rep/recognition vs. Jamari Thrash, Louisville Q4 9:40)
• A lot of experience in zone coverage – has athletic ability to play man coverage
• Moves very well in a half-turn when bailing – effortlessly accounts for micromovements well up the stem
• Flashed SMOOTHNESS while in beautiful outside/high shade (zone)
• Oily hips and good reactive quickness
• Pursuit and huge hit (Florida, Q2 15:00, second-and-11)
• Beautiful coverage on deep post – in the hip pocket of Ricky Pearsall (Q2, 6:51)
• Maintains a presence in man coverage on crossers – in phase often
• Exercise subtle control on WR’s hip, will launch toward catch-point
• Well-timed and explosive jumps to disrupt at the catch point
• Uses good technique with hands/contact to separate WRs from the football at the catchpoint
• Willing and aggressive in run support – the right toughness for the position
• Gets low and expands outward when containing in run support
• Can play inside or out
• A lot of experience on special teams

Weaknesses

• Slightly undersized
• Feet are quick but does have wasted steps
• Lost body position 3-shade on dig & sit; took a rounded path to contact, choppy steps
• Ricky Pearsall juked him out of his shoes (Florida, Q2 5:57)
• Too wild into the tackle – can be more measured
• He isn’t a strong tackler without momentum – but wraps and holds well
• Missed 23.1% of his tackles in 2023
• Physicaility teeters on DPI
• Can get too grabby – is firm into contact in catch technique
• Can get over-aggressive into contact – fell for double moves (South Carolina Q1 7:33 13-yard TD to Legette)
• Trusts his upper-body mobility enough to get tied up – force a speed turn, could position his body more optimally to prevent the twist
• South Carolina (Q4 7:52 third-and-9 – 17-yard TD to Legette, angled post)
• Modest burst out of a half-turn transition when receivers get into his blind spot
• Could trust his eyes more – gets undisciplined
• Feet get choppy when decelerating
• Great positioning on 9, but got Moss’d vs. Florida (Q2 1:25)
• Had zero interceptions in college

Summary

Andru Phillips is a tough-minded explosive athlete with impressive movement skills and fluidity to flip his hips, stay balanced, and keep his eyes on target – perfect for shaded zone coverage & midpointing. He can play inside and outside, and he has the athletic traits and experience to succeed in both man and zone coverage. He’s feisty at the catch point, with good technique to disrupt, but lacks the ability to locate and secure interceptions – had zero in college.

His anticipation skills and discipline are still a work in progress in coverage. He has the right mentality in run support and can deliver solid hits when he’s in pursuit, but he’s more of a wrap-up and hold-on tackler from closer proximity. Phillips is raw, and his hands/physical nature get him in trouble. There are aspects of his game that still need to be refined, but the baseline athletic traits raise his ceiling.

For a detailed breakdown of his All-22 Tape, check out the video below: