Philips Brings Promise of Better Returns

The fifth-round pick out of UCLA scored two touchdowns on punt returns during his college career.

NASHVILLE – On a cold December afternoon 10 years ago, a Tennessee Titans back by the name of Darius Reynaud produced a memorable special-teams performance against Jacksonville, returning one punt 81 yards for a touchdown and another 69 yards for a score.

In the decade since that double-touchdown display, the Titans’ punt-return game has ranged – primarily – from bad to average.

Not only have the Titans failed to produce a punt-return touchdown during that stretch, but they’ve failed to finish higher than 13th in punt-return average in every season but one since 2012. The lone exception was actually last season, when they finished ninth in, thanks to Chester Rogers’ 30 returns for an average of 9.8 yards.

It is clear one of the reasons Tennessee selected UCLA wide receiver Kyle Philips in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL Draft was the hope that – in addition to his slot-receiver contributions – he will be able to bring a big-play threat to the punt-return game.

Philips did just that in college, when he returned 25 punts over four seasons for 496 yards and two touchdowns, averaging an impressive 19.8 yards per return.

“(He’s) confident, fields it well,” general manager Jon Robinson said. “(He) gets one cut, gets upfield. He is not trying to circle up on the return game and bounce it outside. He is tough. He is gritty, which is the mindset you kind of have to have at that position to be able to look at a ball coming down, knowing that guys are barreling down on you. Make sure you field it cleanly, quickly transition your eyes down and find the coverage, make one guy miss and then get vertical.”

Philips’ most productive season as a Bruins return man was 2021, when he brought back nine punts for 203 yards (22.6-yard average), a total that included an 82-yard touchdown return against Colorado.

That was the second punt-return touchdown of Philips’ college career. He also took one 69 yards for a score in 2019, a play that helped UCLA rally from a 32-point, second-half deficit in a win against Washington State.

It’s not necessarily speed that’s made Philips an impressive punt returner, though he feels he plays faster than the 4.58 40-yard dash he ran at the NFL scouting combine.

Philips lists other skills as the most important in separating a good punt returner from an average punt returner.

“I would say vision and stressing the punt-return (unit),” Philips said. “Have the vision to see the lanes and trust in your guys that they are going to get the job done.”

If Philips shows the potential to carve out two important roles for himself – slot receiver and punt returner – that increases his chances of being a productive rookie, something that’s not always the case for fifth-round draft picks.

“I'm just excited to go in there and do everything I can -- and share a spot anywhere on the field, whether that's special teams on the cover teams, or on the offense, be in the slot,” Philips said. “Whatever it is, I want to help to help the team win some games.”