What happened to Phillips’ draft stock?

[AlohaUte]

Mid-season Clark Phillips was projected to be a 1st round pick, now we almost never hear of him. He’s not even listed in many top-10 Cornerback draft prospects. What happened? To me, he’s one of the greats to come out of Utah.

[RustyShackleford]

His size

[dystopiamembrane]

Did he shrink from mid-season or did his competitors become larger?

[Hellhound152]

I miss the good old days of getting downvoted for commenting about how much smaller CPIII was than Jaylon Johnson.  I was surprised by the 40 time, he looked faster than 4.5 at field level.

[RustyShackleford]

He has quick burst and side to side movement based of his 3 cone but straight line speed not as good

[chinngiskhaan]

Size and speed are both underwhelming I think.

[krindor]

He probably wasn’t ever really a 1st rounder – not according to the people who make those decisions/

Draft season is more about projection and measurables and so that group of people probably always saw him more as a 2nd rounder… but during the season, they weren’t the ones giving opinions.  At that time, it was more those who were following college football and seeing what he was doing.  THAT group places more emphasis on what a player is currently doing on the field and less on projection.

As draft season starts and the projections crew becomes more involved, their voices start to get more credence and drop him down some.

Ultimately (while unfortunate for him) it’s not going to be a huge thing to go likely in the 2nd – that’s still early.  Key will be how well he plays on that first contract to get a second.

[dystopiamembrane]

This makes sense. Thank you. I wonder if it is possible to have the decision makers involved in the projections from the start, seems like a better option to me, but maybe they’re busy or something.

[Onlyu]

Day 1 starter at nickel in the NFL. He lacks the size they love but they covet his skill set and technique. He’s not blazing fast but a 4.5 isn’t slow and trust me when I say he’s a wanted man because of his experience in coverage and the intangibles he brings.

1st rounders have to have the measurables but Clark is going to have a long, productive career in the NFL provided he stays healthy.

[2008 National Champ]

I think he has first round ability, but not first round measurables.

[concerned]

Specifically, he had a relatively disappointing 40 time at the combine.  Given his size, he needed to be exceptionally fast to get into the first round.  Didnt happen.

[dystopiamembrane]

This makes sense. Thank you for making the combine issue clear.