KC Chiefs: Five interior defensive line options in free agency
By Jacob Milham
Buffalo Bills’: Harrison Phillips
Some players eat blocks. Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Harrison Phillips eats them for breakfast, lunch, dinner.
A 26-year-old Omaha, Neb., native, Phillips had his best season at the right time. He saw action in 14 games, recording 51 tackles, a sack, four tackles for loss, and eight quarterback pressures. Phillips stared eight games on Buffalo’s defensive front, alongside defensive tackle Ed Oliver. Phillips complimented Oliver immensely, according to The Athletic’s Joe Buscaglia. Oliver’s pass-rush stats nearly doubled when Phillips started the game in 2021. There is little reason to believe Phillips couldn’t have a similar effect on Chris Jones’ production.
Phillips is steady against the double team, holding down his gap. Teams foolishly leave him one-on-one, as he has quick hands for an interior defender. His presence would immediately help both the pass and run defense in Kansas City.
A Bargain FA pick-up that could cause an impact is Harrison Phillips. Plays mostly 1, 0 Tech with movement to 2,4,5 who is good vs the run and pushes the pocket well enough on run downs. Probably not a 3 down player but could fill Hankins's role immediately. pic.twitter.com/VtV8FCTAqB
— Marcus Johnson (@TheMarcJohnNFL) March 8, 2022
The former Stanford Cardinal has had an up-and-down tenure with Buffalo though. Phillips has his fair share of injuries, including an ACL tear in 2019 and a PCL sprain in 2021. Both injuries kept him out of games or hampered him while active. Without his late 2021 performance, Phillips would not be on this list. But, fully recovered from both injuries, Phillips showed what he can do when healthy and given the starting job. The question is if teams will take a flier on him. For a two-down defender, Veach would be wise to inquire.
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