The Tennesee Titans hit the 2022 NFL Draft in need of some juice on offense, and that was before they traded AJ Brown to the Philadelphia Eagles. They ended up taking two wide receivers, an offensive lineman, a quarterback, a running back, and a tight end. For me, that second wide receiver taken, Kyle Philips out of UCLA, was one of the more intriguing picks. He isn’t another big, physical receiver with a lot of potential. Philips is a smaller and shiftier guy at 5’1″ 189 pounds. What he brings to the passing game is skill set well-suited for the slot, and it gives him a relatively stable floor with this franchise. It’s a presence we haven’t seen in the receiving corps since Adam Humphries was playing well for the Titans in 2019. Humphries was a chain-mover, and when the Titans moved on from him, it looked like Anthony Firkser was primed to fill that void in the offense. But, that didn’t go according to plan, and Firkser is now with the Atlanta Falcons. So, things align pretty well for Philips if he can make the most of this opportunity.
He enters the NFL off of a 2021 campaign that saw him amass 59 catches for 739 yards and a whopping 10 touchdowns. Playing in 11 games, that is damn near a touchdown-per-game average in case you can’t do the math, or just don’t want to because you hate it. Either way, I got ya. He was named first team All-Pac-12, and left for the NFL sitting at 4th on UCLA’s all time receptions list with 163. Dude is a catch machine.
But, when you break down his game, you see a lot of things that translate well to the NFL. It’s the savvy in Philips’ game that is most encouraging. He is an excellent route runner, and he’s good in the open field. That’s not to say he’s the most twitchy of prospects – that’s to say he knows when and how to identify soft space against zone coverage, and he uses leverage and positioning to get open. There’s a little bit of smoke and mirrors to his game, as he is hyperactive with his feet trying to lock up opposing defensive backs in order to make his move. But, when he freezes a guy, he is absolutely lethal in breaking his route off and making them pay. He is absolute money when he gets a cornerback right where he wants them.
Then, there’s that word that Jon Robinson and Mike Vrabel absolutely love: versatility. Philips brings more to the game than just the slot machine. He’s a good and willing blocker in the run game, something that likely had this regime’s collective mouth watering. He’s physical in that regard. And, he adds potential value on special teams as a returner. Some analysts have confined Philips to the slot, but I think he can be a more effective gadget player than folks are giving him credit for – you could throw him screens in space, use him on jet sweeps, and even put him inline. I don’t think it’s crazy to suggest that Philips could potentially do a lot of things well in this Titans offense.
He doesn’t have the burst or pure speed to be a lethal deep threat. He’s not going to be a contested catch guy because of his size, but there’s a nice role for him in this Titans offense that he should have the open track to. Like I said, if all goes according to plan, Philips could be the new chain-mover in this Titans offense…the guy that Ryan Tannehill looks to on those 3rd & 6 pass plays.
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Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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