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Cleveland Browns: 3 goals for Jacob Phillips’ rookie season

By Dan Gilinsky

NEW ORLEANS, LA - JANUARY 13: Linebacker Jacob Phillips #6 of the LSU Tigers celebrates after making a tackle during the College Football Playoff National Championship game against the Clemson Tigers at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on January 13, 2020 in New Orleans, Louisiana. LSU defeated Clemson 42 to 25. (Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LA - JANUARY 13: Linebacker Jacob Phillips #6 of the LSU Tigers celebrates after making a tackle during the College Football Playoff National Championship game against the Clemson Tigers at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on January 13, 2020 in New Orleans, Louisiana. LSU defeated Clemson 42 to 25. (Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images) /
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TUSCALOOSA, AL – NOVEMBER 09: Jacob Phillips #6 of the LSU Tigers reacts during the second half against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Bryant-Denny Stadium on November 9, 2019 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
TUSCALOOSA, AL – NOVEMBER 09: Jacob Phillips #6 of the LSU Tigers reacts during the second half against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Bryant-Denny Stadium on November 9, 2019 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images) /

Phillips’ No. 3 goal for the Cleveland Browns: Having 5 quarterback pressures

Though Jacob Phillips is not a strong coverage linebacker, even with him being able to man up on running backs at times, he could very well be a good blitzer in 2020.

Phillips is a player that Cleveland Browns defensive coordinator Joe Woods could utilize on passing downs in that way, and theoretically in sub-packages.

While one can’t expect Phillips to be having nearly the 84 blitz occurrences Mack Wilson had last season in his rookie year for Cleveland, Phillips matching Wilson’s five QB pressures doesn’t seem entirely lofty.

Phillips times up snap counts as a blitzer well, and with Myles Garrett, Sheldon Richardson, Olivier Vernon, and/or Adrian Clayborn in front of him as talented rushers, Phillips could prove to be a solid rusher throughout the season.

That’d make him more useful overall as a result for Woods and company, too, and help out the secondary by getting QB’s off that spots and releasing the ball quicker where Cleveland can hopefully make tackles short of the sticks.

It’d obviously be nice for Phillips to get home on occasion, but with I wouldn’t expect him to have multiple sacks, frankly.

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Sack totals aren’t really the end-all, be-all, though, and pressures in today’s league show meaningful production, especially if blitzers can aid the back end when doing so and lead to incompletions.

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