NFL Draft 2019: Chiefs check out Tennessee pass rusher Kyle Phillips

The Kansas City Chiefs were among the 19 teams in attendance at Tennessee’s pro day to scout pass rusher Kyle Phillips before the NFL Draft.

One of the latest prospects to draw the Kansas City Chiefs interest as the 2019 NFL Draft approaches is a player who was unfortunately left standing on the outside looking in during the recent NFL Combine in Indianapolis: Tennessee pass rusher Kyle Phillips.

Per reports, the good news is that Phillips still had a nice-sized audience when he served as the headlining act during the University of Tennessee’s pro day in front of 19 NFL franchises in recent days.

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Among the 338 invites that went out to prospects for the Combine, not a single one was reserved for the man voted as Tennessee’s top defensive player—a rarity for an SEC program, to be sure. Phillips led the Volunteers defense with 55 total tackles (including 7.5 for a loss), 4.5 sacks, 4 passes defended, 1 interception, and 1 forced fumble.

Per Tony Pauline, Phillips showed off well at a regional combine and followed up those numbers with a nice performance in linebacker and defensive line drills. He weighed in at 6’4, 277 lbs. and ran a 40-yard dash in “4.65 to 4.68 seconds.”

The Kansas City Chiefs were listed as one of the few teams who have already met with him since the NFL Combine which shows that Brett Veach might be doing his homework for later rounds or even the prospects to call once the draft is over as he stacks together hopeful contacts for rookie free agents.

For the Chiefs, there’s at least enough interest in seeing Phillips up close to know whether or not he’s worthy of an investment at the next level since they couldn’t scout him at the Combine. Phillips has played 7-technique (or strong side defensive end) for the Volunteers, which is where a player needs to be particularly well rounded to handle his particular run gap while also being able to pursue as an edge rusher and also disrupt a tight end’s timing/release.

It’s hard to tell who will strike when it comes to Phillips given that help in the trenches is always needed and Day 3 is a wild west of a show at the draft—as teams reach for scheme-specific players who will largely focus on specialized (read: bit) roles.