Dru Phillips Is Having a Rookie of the Year Start to His NFL Career

Former Wildcat and current New York Giants Rookie, Dru Phillips is having an impressive start to his young NFL career. He is a force to be reckoned with from his cornerback position. He is making plays in pass defense, he is making plays in the backfield, he is forcing fumbles, and he is getting to the quarterback. He is making a legit case through two weeks of play to be a defensive rookie of the year candidate.

Week 1 was impressive for a rookie, as he made an instant impact in a game. His stats aren't overwhelming at 4 tackles and 1 forced fumble. However, that one forced fumble was a game changer. He also did a great job of limiting receptions in coverage and keeping the play in front of him for shorter gains.

That week alone made him a solid rookie edition, shutting down his receivers and making impact plays like the fumble. Then week two rolled along and he went from being an impact CB to being a one-man wrecking ball. He was lightning in a bottle and all over the field. His stat line for week two is absolutely impressive at 12 tackles, 1 sack, and 2 tackles for loss. 12 tackles for any position is impressive, 12 tackles as a cornerback is almost unheard of. He was all over the place.

Check out some of these highlights from his impressive day:

We need to mention that when Nick Falato says "at least", he is remarking on the Giants typical inability to get playmakers in the draft. He's noting how impressive it is that they were able to find Phillips in the third round. Here is Falato again, remarking on Phillips:

In the above clips we have seen Phillips stopping the QB from running and coming out of his coverage to stop the sweep, completely blowing through a block that was set for him. This is elite level NFL play from Phillips in his rookie campaign.

We are only two weeks into the NFL season but Phillips has impressed in a mighty way. While we see these elite plays above, we need to remember as a CB it's also about the plays that weren't made because of the coverage. Yet, according to Jordan Raanan even that has been elite.

Continue to keep an eye on our guy, Dru Phillips, in his impressive rookie year. Can he make a case for defensive rookie of the year? So far, he has.