Dru Phillips sliced into the backfield from his nickel spot, before dropping running back Eric Gray for a tackle behind the line of scrimmage.
The Giants’ third-round pick already is earning first-team reps and making eye-opening plays in training camp from that slot corner position, such as that highlight moment during the team’s first 11-on-11 drills in full pads Monday at Quest Diagnostics Training Center.
“Just another day of going out there and competing. I don’t think of it as where I’m at. It’s more with the reps I do get, make them count the most,” Phillips said after practice. “I’ve made some plays. It shows the hard work I’ve put in, and what I’ve tried to get done.
“I’ve been making plays, but my focus is on what I still can do.”
The rookie corner out of Kentucky is vying for immediate playing time in the Giants’ revamped secondary after Cor’Dale Flott was moved from the slot to the outside to replace departed starter Adoree’ Jackson opposite 2023 first-round pick Deonte Banks.
Isaiah Simmons, a former first-rounder who mostly has played safety and linebacker over four NFL seasons with the Cardinals and the Giants, also is taking reps at the slot position.
Phillips, who is listed at 5-foot-11, calls the 6-4 Simmons “a freak of nature,” and says he’s “learning a lot” from veteran defensive backs such as Simmons and Nick McCloud.
Facing rookie first-round pick Malik Nabers in practice also has been a valuable learning experience.
“That kid’s a baller,” the 22-year-old Phillips said. “I’ve been running through reps and I’m trying to emphasize the details, but you’re gonna see a guy like Malik every week of the season. Going against him in practice, I now know what to expect.”
The speed of the NFL game, Phillips added, has been the biggest adjustment during his first pro camp.
“Definitely, it’s been so fast, the talent of the guys and the efficiency … and the attention to detail is so much higher,” Phillips said. “There’s so much going on, especially at nickel, at one time — like, bam, bam, bam, bam. It’s like two seconds, so you gotta think and be in the right spot to make a play. Yeah, it’s faster, but it’s gonna slow down eventually. I’m just taking my time with everything.”
After safety Xavier McKinney signed with the Packers in free agency, the Giants allotted two of their top three draft picks to the secondary.
Minnesota safety Tyler Nubin was selected in the second round (47th overall) and Phillips was taken in the third with the 70th-overall pick.
Pro Football Focus listed Phillips among the best picks of the third round.
Asked what he believes makes him a good run stopper out of the defensive backfield, Phillips replied, “I think the main thing is just wanting to.
“I’m glad we had pads on today because now you can actually go put your body on somebody,” Phillips added. “I feel like coming in here, that’s one of the main reasons they got me here is my physicality. So today something just sparked in me, like, ‘Man, I’m gonna hit somebody.’ I think the main thing is the will to just want to go do it.
“It’s one of those things where it just happens. Most times out there, for example, [Sunday] I made a play on a screen. We have the play call and you’re thinking so much about what could happen, but at the end of the day, it’s trusting your gut and if you feel like you can make a play, go make the play.”