Is Phillips Ready to 'Pop' for Dolphins Defense?

Jaelan Phillips was productive in his first two NFL seasons, but he could be in store for a big season under new Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator Vic Fangio

The arrival of Vic Fangio as defensive coordinator has prompted big expectations for the Miami Dolphins in 2023, which makes sense given his NFL credentials.

Among other things, the hope — and in some quarters belief — is that Fangio will be able to unleash the full potential of some of the talented young players on the Dolphins defense.

At the top of that list, according to NFL analyst Brian Baldinger, is edge defender Jaelan Phillips.

"I think Jaelan Phillips has a chance to 'pop' this year," Baldinger said on NFL Network this week. "You saw it in the second half of the season. We haven't really seen much from Bradley Chubb, but Vic has worked with him before. and so I think that's going to be huge.”

.@baldyNFL expects big things from jaelan phillips and the @miamidolphins defense under new DC vic fangio. #finsup pic.twitter.com/LTzFGqXY7Z

— josh houtz (@houtz) April 13, 2023

Without question, Phillips stands to benefit from having a full season playing opposite Chubb, who also will benefit not only from being with the Dolphins from the start in 2023 but also from being reunited with Fangio.

Remember that Chubb's first Pro Bowl invitation — before he was selected as an alternate last year — came under Fangio in Denver in 2018.

Fangio's scheme relies more on the pass rushers up front to generate pressure on the quarterback than the previous scheme, which was heavy on blitzing from linebackers and defensive backs.

PHILLIPS AND SLOW STARTS

If Phillips is to live up to expectations in 2023, one thing that would help is getting off to a better start than he did either as a rookie or a second-year player.

While his finishing totals of 8.5 and 7 sacks were more than respectable, it took a while for him to get going in that department each season.

As a rookie in 2021, Phillips didn't have a sack in his first three games and had 1.5 through eight games before he got hot. He had a streak of five games with at least half a sack, highlighted by a three-sack performance in a 33-10 victory against the Carolina Panthers.

In 2022, it again wasn't until the fourth game that Phillips got his first sack. Phillips had three sacks through nine games before he had another five-game streak with at least half a sack, though this one didn't include any game with more than one.

While Phillips' sack numbers went down in 2022, maybe a big reason for optimism for 2023 resides in his number of QB hits, which went from 16 as a rookie to 25 last season.

HOW PHILLIPS' FIRST TWO SEASONS COMPARED WITH OTHER DOLPHINS PASS RUSHERS

In examining what could be in store for Phillips in 2023, we always could look back to prominent Dolphins pass rushers of the past, starting with the player to whom he's often been compared — Jason Taylor.

Before anyone goes crazy, the Phillips-Taylor comparison has to do with body type and skill set and isn't suggesting that Phillips is headed to the Hall of Fame — though that obviously would be very cool.

But through two seasons, Phillips was every bit the player that Taylor in the same time frame, if not better, with 15.5 sacks compared to 14 for Taylor.

And it should be noted that Taylor took a big dip in his third season in 1999 with only 2.5 sacks before everything came together and he began his incredible run in 2000.

For those who prefer using Cameron Wake as a comp, let's start with pointing out that it's not totally fair because Wake had pro experience from the CFL before he arrived in Miami.

That said, Wake had 14 sacks in his second season with the Dolphins after getting 5.5 in a backup role in 2009. In his third season, Wake had 8.5 sacks.

Based on his development, the QB hits last year that showed he was at least coming close to the quarterback and the arrival of Fangio as defensive coordinator, it's entirely reasonable to think Phillips should at very least match his rookie output of 8.5 sacks, if not reach double digits.

It's also not impossible, to again quote, Baldinger that he could "pop" in 2023.