Cleveland Browns: 5 NFL Draft EDGE prospects to pair with Myles Garrett

4. Jaelan Phillips, Miami

The consensus No. 1 recruit in 2017, Jaelan Phillips originally attended UCLA, where he struggled with injuries over two seasons. He medically retired in 2018 after suffering a concussion, his third in college. However, Phillips decided to return to the game, and transferred to Miami in order to pursue a music production degree (there’s a Chad Thomas joke in here somewhere). After sitting out the 2019 campaign, he’s hit the ground running in 2020, and is showing the talent that made him such a highly sought-after recruit.

Phillips stands 6-5, 266-pounds with excellent burst and agility. He’s still a work in progress from a technical standpoint, but calling him talented is like saying Myles Garrett is a good player. He was the top recruit for a reason; Phillips has the physical gifts to be an All-Pro player, and while he’s an EDGE by trade, he’s an impressive enough athlete to have gotten snaps at linebacker and even slot corner. That won’t happen in the NFL, but it’s an example of the kind of talent Phillips is.

With Phillips, his injury risk will dictate his stock. He’s got All-Pro potential if coached well. But there’s always the chance that one more concussion ends his football career, and because of that, teams may not be willing to take that risk early in the draft. Without injury concerns, Phillips is likely an early Day 2/late Day 1 pick.

The Browns are armed with two third-round selections this year, and if Phillips were to fall that far, the potential reward may be too much to pass on.