Dolphins Potential Draft Targets: CB Clark Phillips III

Scouting report on Utah cornerback Clark Phillips III and how he would fit with the Dolphins

The 2023 NFL draft is quickly approaching.

The Miami Dolphins don’t have a first-round pick (would have been 21st overall) due to tampering with Tom Brady and Sean Payton, but they do have the 51st overall pick, two third-round picks (77 and 85) and two Day 3 picks (198 and 241).

Miami is hoping those picks can help them build on a roster that reached the playoffs this past season for the first time since 2016.

This article series is intended to be an introduction to these players so fans are familiar with a number of options and why they make sense for the Dolphins.

We’ll dive into some simple biographical information, the pros and cons of their game and how they fit into Miami’s scheme or depth chart.

UTAH CB CLARK PHILLIPS III

Basic Background

Career Stats: 112 total tackles, 5 tackles for loss, 9 INTs, 30 passes defended

Phillips was a three-year starter for a Utes defense that consistently finished near the top of the Pac-12 conference in most major categories. He was a four-star recruit from La Habra High School in La Habra, Californi,a and became a starter the second he stepped on campus.

He improved every season while at Utah, culminating in a 2022 season filled with impressive accolades. He was a Unanimous All-American, a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award, the 2022 AP Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year and named to the 2022 Pac-12 All-Conference tirst team.

Phillips started all 31 games he played across three seasons and built a reputation for himself as a playmaking cornerback. He returned four of his nine career interceptions for touchdowns, tying him for the most pick-sixes in Utah history. 

Pros of Phillips' Game

Phillips is a versatile and smart cornerback who shows consistent improvement and toughness on the football field.

He’s an explosive and smooth athlete, allowing him to stick with wide receivers, in man coverage, at all three levels of the field. He does an excellent job staying in the receiver’s hip pocket and flashing his hands at the last second to make plays on the ball.

In reality, his playmaking ability likely is his best trait. Phillips’ nine interceptions in just 31 games are impressive, and that doesn’t even include his 30 passes defended. When Phillips does come away with an INT, he can take it back for six points, as evidenced by his four career pick-sixes.

While Phillips’ best traits translate best to man coverage, he’s a more than capable zone coverage cornerback. He displays high football intelligence in passing off routes to his teammates, reading the eyes of quarterbacks and the depth at which he takes his zone drops. Those skills make Phillips a truly versatile option. 

Cons of Phillips' Game

All of the cons in Phillips’ game stem from one issue — size. Phillips is listed at 5-10, but there’s a chance he’s smaller than that. His lack of size and length does make it difficult for him to match up with bigger, physical receivers.

It also limits his ability to tackle in the running game and disengage from wide receivers’ blocks. That said, Phillips’ physical, competitive nature allows him to hold his own. Just because a receiver is bigger than him doesn’t mean he will lose the rep.

Still, there’s a reason teams prefer bigger cornerbacks in the NFL, and Phillips will never be a prototype player at the position. 

HOW CLARK PHILLIPS III FITS THE MIAMI DOLPHINS

Phillips is not a perfect scheme fit for new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio’s system. Phillips’ game best translates to a scheme more focused on man coverage. However, Phillips played plenty of zone coverage at Utah and proved he could be effective.

It’s also important to note that while Fangio’s scheme primarily uses zone coverage, man coverages likely will be mixed in a decent amount of time. Phillips’ football intelligence and scheme versatility could make him an asset to a coordinator like Fangio, who loves switching up coverages on opposing quarterbacks.

Miami’s cornerback room appears to be in a state of flux. Players like Byron Jones, Trill Williams and Nik Needham are coming off significant injuries. Xavien Howard is approaching 30 years old and struggled greatly at times in 2022 while he battled injuries.

In the immediate future, Phillips could play in the slot for Miami. It's something he did while at Utah, and in the NFL it might limit some of the concerns that come from his lack of size and length.

Phillips is not a perfect scheme fit for the Dolphins. However, his playmaking ability, evident aptitude for improving over time and athletic skill set gives him plenty of traits Miami could use in the secondary.

Sometimes the best strategy is just to draft good football players. That sounds reductive and over-simplistic, but teams overdraft players based on perceived fit every year and it often goes predictably wrong. 

Odds Phillips Makes it to 51

As always, these predictions are difficult. There is a good argument for Phillips being on the board at pick 51.

For starters, his size will turn some teams off. Plenty of teams will prioritize the bigger, longer cornerbacks — of which there are plenty — allowing a player like Phillips to slip. Some teams might view him purely as a slot cornerback, which also could push him down the board.

On that same note, the 2023 draft is filled with talented cornerbacks. A decent number of them are expected to fly off the board in the first three rounds of the draft. Phillips could get pushed down depending on how teams value his skill set.

That’s the realistic scenario for Phillips falling to Miami’s pick at 51. However, there also is a real scenario where some team watches Phillips’ tape — he plays like a fringe first-round player — and takes him well before 51 rolls around.

If he does fall to 51 for whatever reason, Miami should consider adding him to its secondary and figuring out where he plays later. 

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