2008 Draft retro ... Kenny Phillips

by Ed Valentine on Feb 9, 2009 7:00 AM EST in New York Giants News

We are in NFL Draft preview mode here at Big Blue View, with our Friday 'Prospecting' series in full swing.

We will continue to look ahead to the April draft. Let's take some time, though, to look back at how the 2008 draft class has worked out for our New York Giants.

First, a quick recap of the class.

Round 1 -- Kenny Phillips
Round 2 -- Terrell Thomas
Round 3 -- Mario Manningham
Round 4 -- Bryan Kehl
Round 5 -- Jonathan Goff
Round 6 -- Andre Woodson
Round 7 -- Robert Henderson

Let's begin at the top and work our way down. That means we start our retro with No. 1 pick Kenny Phillips.

Kenny Phillips

As the 2008 Draft neared, Phillips seemed to be the apple of most Giants' fans eyes. He is the guy we wanted, and it turned out he was the guy the Giants wanted -- and got.

Phillips was, and still is, looked at as the next great player in the long line of safeties to come out of the University of Miami. That list includes Ed Reed, Sean Taylor and Brandon Meriweather.

Phillips proved to be a hard hitter and a sure tackler as a rookie with the Giants. I am not sure, though, that he played the number of snaps or made the type of overall impact the Giants hoped for when they made him the first safety selected in last year's draft.

That said, though, I see no reason to be anything other than optimistic about Phillips' future with the Giants.

With or without James Butler, who is a free agent, on the roster next season I would anticipate Phillips starting and playing full time.

Phillips is part of an excellent young core of players the Giants have in their secondary. I expect him to be an impact player for a long time, and to make a few Pro Bowls before he is done.

Rookie season grade: B+

		Sacks		Interceptions			Tackles
	G	Sacks	YdsL	Int	Yds	IntTD	Solo	Ast	Total
2008 - Kenny Phillips	16	0	0	1	0	0	50	12	62

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Kenny Philipps, a playmaker ?

I asked the question before on this blog, I’ll ask it again : What makes you think Kenny Philipps will be a playmaker ? What makes you think he is the successor to Ed Reed/Sean Taylor ?

In college, he wasn’t a playmaker. He is a good safety, with solid instincts, and is a sure tackler. But nothing, absolutely nothing points towards him becoming an elite safety.

I’m just aksing Giants fans : Show me reasons why you are that optimistic when talking about Kenny and his ceiling ?

by bubqr on Feb 9, 2009 11:56 AM EST reply actions

KP

I would say he doesn’t have Ed Reed instincts for the ball in the air (no one else does, either). He does have good skills for getting to the ball in the run game, athleticism and the ability to make tackles in the open field. That last part is a key for any safety. I believe he has a bright future.

by Ed Valentine on Feb 9, 2009 12:09 PM EST up reply actions

why are we optimistic..

because he’s big, he’s strong, he’s rangy, he has good instincts, and he tackles well.. I see him more as a strong safety up in the box down the line.. not in centerfield like the other miami safeties

It's not easy being Giants fan in Philly.. but it sure is satisfying

by Hoyadestroya85 on Feb 9, 2009 6:32 PM EST up reply actions

and how can you say that nothing points toward him being an elite safety?

he’s a big hitter and with time he’ll be a blitzing machine..

It's not easy being Giants fan in Philly.. but it sure is satisfying

by Hoyadestroya85 on Feb 9, 2009 6:34 PM EST up reply actions

sorry for being redundant..

but he’s also only 22 years old..

It's not easy being Giants fan in Philly.. but it sure is satisfying

by Hoyadestroya85 on Feb 9, 2009 6:41 PM EST up reply actions

only 1 year

kenny phillips will be just fine. i live in the d.c. area so i could follow sean taylor’s career. the first few years of taylors career with the skins he was a strong safety. not many ints but a lot of tackles. i care about tackles, but if my safety is making alot of tackles then something is wrong with the front 7. he will get better as the years go on…. just watch. my opinion is that he will be more like s.taylor

by rumble27 on Feb 9, 2009 7:20 PM EST reply actions

KP

Some more reasons and these are just wrinkles on what everyone else wrote: He just finished his ROOKIE year and was coming into a stacked defense where he simply wasn’t asked to do a whole lot. But he did everything he was asked to do with excellent accuracy and poise. He was asked to make some open field tackles, and he did that well. He was placed in the box and asked to rush the passes: and he did that well.

So as he continues to mature; we all expect great things out of him. He’s shown tremendous glimpses of his talent throughout the year and as he gets older and better, he’ll be asked to do more.

And he’ll do just fine; thanks very much!!

by Cody K on Feb 9, 2009 9:10 PM EST reply actions