Draft analysts and scouts expressed their doubts that former Louisiana State University linebacker Jacob Phillips, who the Browns drafted in the fourth round of last week’s draft with the No. 97 overall selection, would be a starter in the NFL.
His former defensive coordinator and current Baylor coach Dave Aranda swatted those observations down during a recent phone conversation in which he talked about the Tigers the Browns selected. The team also took LSU safety Grant Delpit in the second round with the No. 44 overall choice.
“I feel Jacob is going to be a starter. I was there with Jacob in the recruiting process. Great family,” Aranda said earlier. “What strikes me about Jacob is he’s smart, tough, physical. You see that right away with him. Jacob made all the calls for us on defense.”
Aranda said Phillips’ football intelligence, citing the complexity of the Tigers defense, will ultimately help him as he transitions to the NFL.
“Jacob was making those adjustments. He showed his ability to be vocal and take command and know his stuff,” Aranda said of those calls on defense. “I feel that Jacob has got the ability to play both inside linebacker as well as outside backer. In the box, on the line of scrimmage, back and front, covering as well as being in the core, which is what he did for us.”
Phillips, 6-foot-4, 229 pounds, started two years at linebacker, coming out after his junior year because he said he was ready to make the leap. He led the team in tackles in 2019 and was second on the team in 2018. That intelligence could make up for the lack of experience as he arrives on a Browns team where youth dominates the linebacker room.
Jermaine Grace and recently signed B.J. Goodson are the elder statesmen at 26 and last year’s draft choices, Sione Takitaki and Mack Wilson, have just one year each.
“The nice part is while they may be young, I really think there are a bunch of guys that understand there is a ton of work that needs to go into this,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said of his linebackers. “I think they are ready for that, but the youth doesn’t really bother me so much as just getting our hands on them and starting to develop these guys.”
Phillips views it as an ideal situation for him.
“That was one of my key things to be the outcome of this draft, coming into room where I will get an opportunity. I feel as though I will be given an opportunity in Cleveland,” he said after being chosen. “I am ready to work. I am ready to put in every ounce that I can to succeed and help the team win. I just want to make sure that I bring that winning tradition I had in college to Cleveland.”
He could also bring something else, Aranda said. The possibility that Phillips could eventually land at the same position as Joe Schobert, the former Browns middle linebacker who he coached while at Wisconsin, wasn’t lost on Aranda. He said Phillips is more versatile than Schobert, who primarily played outside linebacker for him when he coached for the Badgers.
“His ability to cover a tight end and do those things was really his strong suit,” he said of Schobert. “Knowing that he could play inside backer, just his intelligence, his savviness. You could see it. It wouldn’t be an issue.”
Likewise, he thinks Phillips playing inside linebacker in the NFL will not be a difficult proposition for him.
“Jacob is the inside backer. Real productive. Again, savvy player,” Aranda said. “He knows the answer but he knows why you’re asking the question. All those things. You can see how that transition could be made to outside backer. It’s the exact opposite.”
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