NFL Draft Profile: Andru Phillips

[Ed. Note: This article is from KSR was published on April 19. Day 2 of the NFL Draft begins on Friday night and Kentucky cornerback Andru Phillips is projected to come off the board somewhere between the end of round two and beginning of round three.]

The 2024 NFL Draft is less than one week away. Professional football organizations are hosting final visits and making the final adjustments to their big board rankings. Personnel departments are focusing on the last weekend in April for the three-day mega-event in Detroit that will include 259 picks over seven rounds.

For the Kentucky football program, the Wildcats are scheduled to have a busy Day 2 and Day 3 this year. There are a handful of players that could end up being draft selections. KSR is here to get you ready after being there every step of the way — combine, pro day — during the pre-draft process.

Before KSR’s yearly draft guide publishes on draft week, we will be dropping profiles on all of the expected Kentucky draft picks in preparation for the event. Next up is another former three-star cornerback who will become the second draft pick from Kentucky’s 2020 signing class.

Player: Andru Phillips

• Height: 5106
• Weight: 190
• Age: 22.3
• Arm: 31.25″
• Hand: 8.75″
• 40-Yard Dash: 4.48
• 10-Yard Split: 4.67
• Short Shuttle: 4.29
• Vertical: 42″
• Broad Jump: 11’03”
• Bench: 16 reps

Per Relative Athletic Score, Andru Phillips checks off some important trait boxes. The Kentucky defensive back posted elite explosive scores in the vertical and broad jump. That helped for a lack of size and what were some slow numbers in the 10-yard split and short shuttle. However, the long speed number in the 40-yard dash was enticing, and that is something that all defensive backs at the professional football level have to have.

The testing data says Phillips is a no doubt draftable prospect at cornerback.

Production

• 2020 (True): 4 games, 10 snaps, 64.2 PFF grade, 1 tackle
• 2021 (RFr.): 9 games, 22 snaps, 65.8 PFF grade, 3 tackles
• 2022 (RSo.): 13 games, 4 starts, 363 snaps (52.9% in slot), 31 tackles (14.8% missed tackle rate), 1.5 tackles for loss, 5 pass breakups, 46.9% catch rate on 32 targets, 8.0 yards per reception allowed
• 2023 (RJr.): 12 games, 12 starts, 710 snaps (31.4% in slot), 47 tackles (23.1% missed tackle rate), 1.5 tackles for loss, 5 pass breakups, 66.7% catch rate on 57 targets, 11.4 yards per reception allowed
• Career: 38 games, 16 starts, 1,105 snaps, 82 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 10 pass breakups

Background

Andru Phillips was a three-star recruiting win for Kentucky in the class of 2020. The Mauldin (S.C.) High product was a legacy recruit for the Wildcats. Andru’s dad, Carlos, played linebacker at Kentucky under Jerry Claiborne. Phillips was one of five secondary signees for Kentucky that recruiting cycle joining Joel Williams, Vito Tisdale, Rickey Hyatt, and Carrington Valentine.

Phillips committed to Kentucky in April of his junior season after an official visit to Lexington. His athleticism was on full display in high school. The Palmetto State recruit picked the Wildcats over Louisville, NC State, Tennessee, and Virginia Tech before a key early piece in Kentucky’s top-25 recruiting haul.

After taking a redshirt in year one, Phillips missed some time in fall camp due to an off-field incident in 2021 before returning to the field and playing a reserve role. From there, we would see the cornerback make a big jump.

As a redshirt sophomore in 2022, we started to see Phillips take a big jump in year three at Kentucky. After opening the season as a starting cornerback, Phillips made the shift inside to nickel with the emergence of Ole Miss transfer Keidron Smith. That turned out to be a good move. The third-year player had a strong season with five pass breakups and developed into one of the top nickel players in the SEC.

In his redshirt junior season in 2023, Kentucky asked Phillips to double-dip in year four. The cornerback played over 700 snaps spending time at outside cornerback and slot cornerback. There were some low points highlighted by missed tackles, but the defensive back was a critical part of the Kentucky defense and was missed big time when taken out of the Gator Bowl due to injury.

Scouting Report

Andru Phillips was a full-time starter for just one season at Kentucky but played a high volume of snaps as a subpackage player in 2022. The cornerback spent time playing inside and outside in defensive coordinator Brad White‘s zone-heavy scheme. Despite spending time outside, Phillips’ permanent home will likely be playing inside.

The defensive back plays a physical brand of football and is not afraid to sneak his face into the fan. Phillips has the athletic traits to become a good man coverage player and does a good job of playing through the face of receivers and showing physicality at the catchpoint. During his stay at Kentucky, the cornerback got better each season and made competitive plays weekly in the SEC.

Due to his lack of size, Phillips can get boxed out by bigger wide receivers, and the lack of ball production (zero interceptions) in college is concerning. So are some of the missed tackle numbers for a player whose biggest selling point is physical play.

Slot coverage players are now at a premium in the National Football League. Everyone needs them, and depth is required. Phillips can fill that role and will provide instant special teams value as a rookie. The slot cornerback — due to playing traits — also might be better suited out of Kentucky’s zone-heavy scheme. Phillips is at his best playing with his hands in isolation man coverage. With his development arrow pointing up, Phillips is a top-100 prospect in this class and that could be a conservative projection.

Draft Window

• Dane Brugler (The Athletic): No. 61 overall (2nd-3rd round)
• Big Board (PFF): No. 64 overall
• Lance Zierlein (NFL Media): 2nd-3rd round
• Consensus Big Board (The Athletic): No. 84 overall

I’m not sure anyone truly had a second-round grade on Andru Phillips entering the draft process, but that’s exactly where the Kentucky product has landed heading into the big show. Phillips has crushed the entire pre-draft process from putting together a strong performance at the Senior Bowl and backing that up with good testing at the combine and pro day. The slot cornerback improved each season at Kentucky and held his own in a brutal league both inside and outside.

That will pay off come Day 2 at the 2024 NFL Draft. Some development is still needed for the defensive back, but an NFL organization will use an early pick on Phillips and expect him to play big snaps early in his pro football career.