Jordan Phillips 2025 NFL Draft Profile

In an NFL draft class loaded with talent at defensive tackle, Maryland’s Jordan Phillips is a prospect who hasn’t gotten a lot of attention. While he’s not among the cream of the crop in this class, Phillips is a prospect with serious upside. Entering the draft at 20 years old, Phillips is another topic in drafting for potential versus drafting for production. While his college production was nothing to write home about (57 tackles, no sacks, and no forced fumbles in two years at Maryland), Phillips’ youthfulness and athleticism make him a raw prospect with a high ceiling.

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Jordan Phillips 2025 NFL Draft Scouting Report

Measurables:

Height: 6’2″
Weight: 312 pounds
Arms: 31 1/2″
Hands: 9 3/4″
Vertical jump: 31″
Broad jump: 9’0″
Bench press: 29 reps

Jordan Phillips Background

After finishing high school in Florida, where he excelled in wrestling, Jordan Phillips initially committed to Tennessee. As a Volunteer, Phillips appeared in just three games in what ended up being a redshirt season. After that lone year at Tennessee, Phillips decided to transfer to Maryland. At Maryland, Phillips became the starting nose tackle, a position he held down for two seasons. While he wasn’t overly productive in college, Phillips flashed the right combination of power, agility, and explosiveness to land himself firmly on the radars of NFL front offices.

Strengths

What shines in Jordan Phillips’ game is his athleticism. He is off the ball quickly with an explosive first step and showcases great agility. His aforementioned wrestling background helps him win leverage, which is also aided by him being a little undersized. Phillips has the kind of athletic ceiling that coaches love to work with. They can teach him technique; he has the natural twitchiness and explosiveness to make him a good player when his game becomes more technical.

To go with his athleticism, Phillips plays very strong. Despite being on the smaller side for a nose tackle, he can overpower his blocker in one-on-one matchups. This strength also helps him take on double teams. As a nose tackle, success isn’t always determined by making a tackle. Holding up two blockers and freeing up a lane for linebackers to get downhill and make tackles are skills at which Phillips can excel.

Weaknesses

Though he has all the athletic potential in the world, Phillips will need to refine his game to find long-term success in the NFL. This is especially evident in the passing game. He had very little success as a pass rusher at the collegiate level. Turning Phillips into a serviceable pass rusher will likely be a multi-year process for whoever drafts him. Until that happens, Phillips will not see the field much on passing downs.

Even though he is better against the run, Phillips still needs some work in that aspect of his game. While a nose tackle doesn’t need to make a lot of tackles to be successful, Phillips needs to improve at disengaging his blockers. It is great that he can take on a double team and free up his teammates to make plays. But the next step is being able to free himself up from that double team, or even one-on-one matchups, and make more tackles.

Potential Team Fits

• Cincinnati Bengals
• Arizona Cardinals
• Buffalo Bills

Jordan Phillips NFL Draft Projection

Expect Jordan Phillips to come off the board in the third or fourth round of the NFL draft. There is a lot to be excited about with him as a prospect. At just 20 years old, he has plenty of time to compound his athleticism into more production. His role as a rookie will be limited to early downs and short-yardage situations. He will need to become a more productive and consistent pass rusher to expand his role, and that probably won’t happen in his first season. Phillips does have a high ceiling, though, which is why teams will be happy to get their hands on him.