2022 Chiefs Draft Prospect: Kyle Philips

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NAME: Kyle Philips

POSITION: Wide Receiver

SCHOOL: UCLA

HEIGHT: 5’11”

WEIGHT: 189 pounds

CAREER BACKGROUND

A native of San Marcos, California, Kyle Philips attended San Marcos High School. He was one of the team’s top receivers during his last three years of high school. Philips recorded 119 receptions, 1,666 receiving yards and 18 receiving touchdowns across both his sophomore and junior seasons. Then as a senior, he made 59 receptions for 1,318 receiving yards and 10 receiving touchdowns. 247Sports rated him as a four-star recruit and ranked Philips as the 43rd best recruit to come out of the state of California. He eventually chose to play college football at UCLA.

Top Freshman

In his true freshman season in 2018, Philips appeared in the first four games and made a few catches and returned a couple of punts. He suffered a concussion afterwards, however. Philips opted to take a redshirt after the injury.

Once he returned in 2019, the wide receiver broke out within the UCLA offense. He saw action in all 12 games and made eight starts. Philips’ 60 catches were the most ever by UCLA freshman (true or redshirt). That led the team for 2019. He also had 681 receiving yards and five receiving touchdowns.

Team And Conference Leader

The 2020 season was shortened, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Philips was still a team leader in the receiving department. In seven games and six starts, he had 38 receptions (team lead), 370 receiving yards, two receiving touchdowns and averaged 12.8 yards per punt return.

In 2021, Philips played in 11 games and had nine starts. His 59 receptions placed him at fourth most all-time in UCLA history among the receptions leaderboard. Furthermore, the pass catcher finished with 739 receiving yards, 10 receiving touchdowns (PAC-12 conference lead) and averaged 22.6 yards per punt return. That strong finish allowed Philips to earn first-team All-PAC 12 honors for 2021.

SCOUTING REPORT

Instead of listing positives and negatives for traits, this year we will be listing the best trait of each prospect and work our way down to the biggest area of improvement/absent trait(s), from top to bottom.

Route Running

Philips is simply a technician at the wide receiver position. He has a wide array of stutter steps, double moves and fakes that he uses at his disposal. On the other hand, Philips uses a sharp, violent cutting style to complete breaks within the route. The same things could be said when he is finishing off the route stem with force. Philips does not provide very many wasted movements, at the same time. He is simply smooth and deceptive during his routes. Thus, opposing defensive backs are left flat-footed or guessing in space, forcing them to bite first.

Football IQ

Philips simply understands how to find the soft spots in coverage. For example, he will decelerate and sit down well before finishing the route in those moments. That is especially true, if it can lead to a quick completion and a serviceable gain. Philips is also swift to recognize leverage points and attacks those assertively against defensive backs. Elsewhere, this wide receiver will gain attention of coaches with his affinity to block and help out other teammates. He can pack quite a punch for his size when blocking. To boot, Philips provides a sturdy enough grip, rather than just a quick push and it can lead to frustration from opponents.

Separation

When getting in and out of breaks, Philips is a smooth player during transitions. He is able to separate both underneath, and at the top of the routes. When working underneath, Philips uses his hands and arms to extend and create extra separation when defenders are on top of him. He is also quick when it comes to his fakes. At the top of routes, Philips recognizes that he can extend routes and slice in between defenders to create a wider throwing window for his quarterback. Finally, he seemingly bounces and cuts with springy feet to gain extra space and time as he finishes the route.

Ball Skills

Philips has consistently impressed with his results in traffic or when working over the middle of the field. During those reps, he remains focused in tight spaces and works aggressively to adjust or reset to get to the ball, if need be. Philips has a larger catch radius, compared to what some may realize. With that, he is able to corral or haul in difficult throws that may be off target. Philips has also fared well when needing to high point the football in contested catch situations. As a result, he can often play bigger than what his size would suggest as well.

Run After Catch Ability

He mainly wins after the catch with his mix of quickness and instincts. For instance, Philips has a great feel for spatial awareness, body positioning and a feel for possible blocks once the ball is in his hands. In terms of spatial awareness, he takes proper angles to maintain space between he and the opponent. Philips is just simply elusive and slippery. That makes it challenging for defenders to bring him down.

Hands

Philips has soft, natural hands. It makes the ball stick to him like velcro. He has steadily improved with his hand technique too. For instance, Philips has worked to better position his hands in front of his frame, while extending his arms more often. He has also showed more urgent adjustments, depending on the ball placement. Philips can still have some lapses in focus, which can lead to occasional drops. Overall, he still has room to grow when it comes to catching with his hands and not needing any aid from his body.

Speed

Philips is not horrible in terms of short area burst. There are definitely limitations to his long speed, however. Philips will not be someone who constantly wins races in the open field. In the meantime, he can get caught from behind often. This wide receiver has had trouble with being too indecisive with choosing when to explode during routes at top speed. Rather than just exploding into open areas, Philips can be a bit too patient.

Release Package

Simply put, Philips does have some inconsistencies when it comes to getting out of his stance at the line of scrimmage. On one hand, he can gain extra separation with his ability to remain patient and utilize stutter steps. There are times where he is late in getting to top speed, though. Philips has not consistently been able to shake off of contact when being pressed at the line of scrimmage. He usually beats press man coverage by squeezing through creases. Or, Philips will work to dip around defenders on their outside shoulder.

Versatility

Mainly, Philips is a slot only wide receiver. He is not incapable of playing special teams and becoming an ace in that area, given his punt return background. Philips’ varied route tree and instincts as a pass catcher could give him a boost, so to speak. He is just not going to be counted on as the top man among the pass catching group.

CHIEFS FIT

In today’s NFL, teams should not hesitate to provide their quarterback with four viable wide receivers. The Kansas City Chiefs are due to catch up with a few of the other teams that have begun that trend. Despite not being a top guy, Philips is a secondary piece who could constantly produce from the slot. His instincts, route running prowess and ability to separate could allow him to make a smooth transition into an offense like Kansas City’s. On the other hand, Philips can handle multiple roles, despite not being able to lineup all over the offensive formation.

Be on the lookout for more FPC Chiefs draft prospect profiles throughout this spring. For more great sports and NFL content, stay tuned to Full Press Coverage.

– Braden Holecek is the Kansas City Chiefs managing editor for Full Press Coverage. He covers the NFL. Like and follow on Follow @ebearcat9//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Follow @FPC_Chiefs//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js and Facebook.