NFL Draft film room: Jordan Phillips a nose for run stuffing

Diving into what the Maryland defensive tackle could bring to the Raiders

Nose tackle is one of the Las Vegas Raiders’ biggest needs heading into the 2025 NFL Draft. After letting John Jenkins walk during free agency, the Raiders’ defense could use another potential starter in the middle of the trenches. That should put Maryland’s Jordan Phillips on the club’s radar.

While Phillips doesn’t have eye-popping stats with just 58 total tackles and three TFL over the last two years, he fits the description of a run-stuffing nose tackle to a tee. The 6-foot-2 and 312-pounder made Bruce Feldman’s Freaks list by squatting 665 pounds, power cleaning 365 pounds and hitting two overhead press reps at 365 pounds.

That power and strength show up on tape as he’s stout against double teams and can destroy one-on-one blocks, which the clips below highlight.

Phillips is arguably the best defensive tackle in this year’s draft class when it comes to taking on double teams. His strength, leverage at the point of attack and technique allow him to consistently stay in his gap when taking on two offensive linemen, which the rep above shows.

Michigan State runs power, putting the center and left guard on a double team against Phillips. Since the defensive tackle is shaded on the center pre-snap, he attacks the center post-snap, using great pad level and good hand placement to defeat the man he’s lined up across from.

Once Phillips feels pressure from the guard, he perfectly executes a corkscrew technique by turning his torso away from the guard and dropping to one knee. That reduces the surface area the guard has to block and helps increase the defender’s leverage advantage.

As a result, the two offensive linemen can’t generate any movement and Phillips successfully stays in his gap while the guard works up to the second level. But the rep isn’t over just yet. The former Terripin gets back on his feet and involved in the tackle to cap off a quality rep against a double team.

The next clip is similar to the last one, only with the Spartans running iso instead of power. But the play call still pits Phillips against the center and left guard on a double team or combo block.

It’s a little easier to see in the previous clip, Phillips plays with a very wide base, and this is a good example of how that helps him absorb contact.

The guard fires off a harder this time, which leads to a little displacement initially. However, the wide base allows the nose tackle to take on blocks with lower pad level and stay on balance through contact. Combine that with impressive lower body strength, and Phillips can stay in his gap even against a good initial surge from the guard.

On top of that, he wins at the point of attack against the center again to escape the block and pursue the running back.

Phillips gets a one-on-one block this time, typically a losing proposition for the offense.

He lines up as a 0-technique or head-up on the center against the inside split zone call from Minnesota. With the defense in an odd front, the center has no help against the nose tackle and almost immediately loses at the point of attack.

Phillips takes on the block with perfect hand placement, landing right on the center’s chest and getting his hands inside the center’s hands. That, combined with his upper body strength, allows the defender to stand up the offensive lineman and gain control of the block. Finally, the Maryland product sheds the block into the playside A-gap, right where the play is designed to hit, forcing the running back to cut backside.

While it would be ideal for Phillips to make the tackle when the back pivots to the playside again, he gets sandwiched between the center and the guard and at least forces the back to bounce all the way to the C-gap. That’s where the linebackers can take over to clean up the play.

Here, we’ll get a good example of how the former Terripan can be effective when two-gapping, which is a nose tackle’s biggest responsibility.

He’s lined up as a 0-technique against an inside zone run, putting him one-on-one with the center again. At the point of attack, he continues to show great leverage and hand placement to gain control of the block. What’s different about this rep compared to the last one is that he unwinds his hips to displace the center and reset the line of scrimmage.

From there, Phillips shows color into the backside A-gap, taking that rushing lane away from the running back and influencing the back to stay on the play side. While it isn’t the cleanest escape, the nose tackle uses a hump move to get off the center’s block and get involved in the tackle.

In other words, he effectively took away both A-gaps

As a change of pace from winning with brute strength, Phillips has also shown the ability to defeat blocks with an arm-over move.

Minnesota runs duo here, and our subject is head up on the center pre-snap, again. However, this time he’s slanting to or attacking the weakside A-gap post snap. That’s where he shows off some impressive quickness and agility, especially for his size, to make the center whiff as the center falls on his face.

To cap the play off, the nose tackle comes flat down the line of scrimmage to meet the running back in the backfield and make the tackle for no gain.

This is the equivalent to a 100-mph pitcher having a nasty change-up; it gives offensive linemen something else to think about and keeps them on their toes. If linemen start firing off the ball to fight back against Phillips’ strength, he can catch them leaning with an arm-over move and win the rep.

With just 26 pressures on 508 pass rush snaps, per Pro Football Focus, and no sacks during his college career, Phillips has some work to do as a pass-rusher. But he does have some traits to work with, showing impressive quickness and movement skills to become more productive at the next level.

He has a decent spin move to build off of, which he uses to beat Michigan State’s guard in the play above. On top of the quickness and agility to execute the spin, Phillips also uses an effective “icepick” to win the rep. Essentially, he uses his right arm and elbow to clear the offensive lineman’s hands and prevent the lineman from recovering. That’s often the difference between an effective and ineffective spin move.

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NFL Mock Draft Database’s consensus big board has the Maryland product ranked as the 113th overall prospect and a projected fourth-round pick. With the Raiders holding the 108th selection of the draft, that could be the sweet spot for the defense to find its nose tackle. Considering he’s only 20 years old, according to The Athletic’s Dane Brugler, Phillips has a high ceiling and could bolster the Silver and Black’s trenches for several years to come.