Jaelan Phillips ... potential Defensive Rookie of the Year?

[Pinky12]

Micah Parsons is the favourite, but will need a tight leash, otherwise he will get his money and potentially turn into Rueben Foster mk2. I hope he has adjusted his moral compass to ensure that he can evolve into the player he believes he can be.
I really like Phillips, he adds real top end speed and athletic power, something we haven't seen upfront on this team since....forever. I believe he compliments Ogbah, and will draw double assignments away from the excellent Davis too. Time will tell, and I willing to give him plenty of time to settle

 

[Digital]

The Cowboys have Smith and Vander Esch already, so I could see Parsons putting up a smaller stat line than expected. I think Phillips or Holland could win DoRY if they stay healthy as they are both playmakers. Heavy emphasis on could.

This.

The Cowboys definitely needed defensive talent, and arguably Parsons was considered the best defender by some people. They went BPA ... and this is exactly why I do not subscribe to always going exclusively BPA. The only part of the Cowboys defense that doesn't suck is their LB corps, which is actually quite good. Now they've logjammed 3 of their strongest defenders into a unit that typically plays only 1 or 2 players. Sure, you could play Parsons as an edge rusher ... but if you were going to do that, you probably would prefer a different defender than Parsons. They could have rolled the dice on an extremely gifted CB like Caleb Farley (back injury red flags) or Tyson Campbell (inconsistent and needs polish) or take a guaranteed stud LB, so they took the stud LB. But, it was a talent addition but not nearly as much of a team upgrade.

Grier moves around the draft board to get good players at value picks to fill areas of need. We traded down and then up and got one of the top WR's ... a position of need for building around Tua. We stood pat at 18 and got the best pass rusher in this draft and the guy who fits us like a glove at DE/OLB. He filled our S hole at #36 and feared he would miss out on one of the OL prospects they coveted so he traded up to secure him. IMHO, if Cincinnati had drafted Sewell instead of Chase Grier would have landed all of the picks he wanted and addressed each of the needs he prioritized, all at positions of value.

Not only was Jaelan Phillips a steal ... but also Grier correctly deduced that teams would be scared off enough to steal him at #18. In hindsight it sounds like teams were going to draft almost every one of the guys we selected soon after we selected them. So, maybe I judged Grier too harshly. Maybe he wasn't really reaching/overpaying. While we never know whether the rumors are true or not ... there does seem to be chatter that other teams were about to snap our guys up if they had lasted a bit longer.

 

[Blancgary911]

I honestly dont care if he wins DROY. All I want for him is to STAY HEALTHY and cause MAD PRESSURE for the QB to disrupt his draw backs. I WILL BE EXTREMELY HAPPY WITH ONLY THOSE. Anything else is JUST GRAVY.

 

[Josh Allen]

Jalen Phillips was the best defensive player in the draft imo. Him and Jaycee horn. Theres concern about the concussion issue, but that's been a bit overblown...He was fine last year. I wanted buffalo to get him bad. I think if tua can get some big leads, Phillips will rack up the sacks ff. I liked the Phillips pick best for Miami

 

[urbanski]

Jalen Phillips was the best defensive player in the draft imo. Him and Jaycee horn. Theres concern about the concussion issue, but that's been a bit overblown...He was fine last year. I wanted buffalo to get him bad. I think if tua can get some big leads, Phillips will rack up the sacks ff. I liked the Phillips pick best for Miami

Not only were our first two picks homeruns, they were both at the positions we were desperate for. Maybe a little lucky with Phillips but it still takes balls to take him considering his injury issues.