Harris Has Eyes on Defensive Sleepers For Day 3 of the Draft

Yes, he didn’t run a blazing 40-yard dash

Yes, he’s fallen to day three.

But, BUT, he’s exactly what teams want in a day three pick and he could be a major sleeper on day three.

Let’s play word association on Phillips III. Okay, this is easy. Feisty. Athletically blessed. Competitive. That one wasn’t difficult at all.

Phillips III is the prototype inside cover corner at the next level. His lack of size will have some teams shying away, but there are going to be teams that find a role for him, the lucky ones, actually. Once a team finds that fit, Phillips III will become a stalwart in that secondary. His Rose Bowl performance had everyone’s attention, even though the Buckeyes threw for a million yards (keep in mind, the Utes played a RB at the CB spot opposite Phillips III). Phillips finished with a key forced fumble that saved a touchdown. He ended up with an Interception in the end zone that saved another TD. Yes, Ohio State QB C.J. Stroud lit up the Utes, but, like I said, that wasn’t at the expense of Phillips III. There’s some old school Antoine Winfield in his game but the guy that I fell in love with last year, at nearly his same size, University of Houston’s Marcus Jones is the right comp. Phillips III’s transitional quickness is on point. He has absolutely no fear in man-to-man coverage. He’s got great, and hot, feet. He needs to continue to work on getting WRs out of his blind spot in coverage, especially if he’s going to side shuffle/run and not backpedal. That said, he’s an absolute football playing dude.

How good is Phillips III? Utah would play cover two everywhere on the field, but have Phillips III lock up the #1 receiver to the wide side of the field. Essentially, Utah would play ten-on-ten, knowing that Phillips III was taking away the opponent’s best receiver.

Against Oregon in 2022, one play sums up Phillips III’s impact on the field. Oregon started in 2×2, motioning the slot WR to…