Can Jordan Phillips fill hole on the Giants’ defensive line?

Veteran defensive tackle coming off difficult 2023 season

Entering his age 32 season, his 10th as an NFL defensive tackle, how much does Jordan Phillips have left to give? The New York Giants, in need of productive players next to All-Pro nose tackle Dexter Lawrence, hope the answer is quite a bit.

Let’s discuss Phillips as we continue player-by-player profiles of the Giants’ 90-man roster.

The skinny

Height: 6-foot-6
Weight: 330
Opening day age: 31
Position: Defensive tackle
Experience: 9
Contract: One-year, $1.79 million | 2024 cap hit: $1,781,177 | Fully guaranteed: $430,000

Career to date

Phillips was a second-round pick by the Miami Dolphins in 2015. He has played for the Dolphins, Buffalo Bills (twice) and Arizona Cardinals. Across nine NFL seasons, he has logged 3,677 defensive snaps.

Phillips has never been voted to the Pro Bowl or named an All-Pro. His most productive season came in 2019 with the Bills. He had career highs in sacks (9.5), tackles (31), tackles for loss (13) and quarterback hits (16).

2024 outlook

The Giants traded Leonard Williams during the 2023 season. They lost A’Shawn Robinson in free agency. They are hoping that Phillips can help fill the void.

Phillips was an obvious target for GM Joe Schoen in free agency. Schoen was director of player personnel in Miami when the Dolphins drafted Phillips in 2015. He was assistant GM in Buffalo when Phillips had his breakout 2019 season.

Phillips is coming off a sub-par 2023 season. He had a career-worst 35.8 Pro Football Focus grade, including just 30.0 in run defense. PFF shows him with a missed tackle rate of 36.8%.

Coming off a season like that, it is a leap of faith for the Giants to believe that Phillips can be a major contributor. The Giants, though, are taking the leap to find out.