NY Giants training camp 2025 practice highlights from the sidelines
See and hear New York Giants players in highlights during training camp practices from the sideline in East Rutherford.
EAST RUTHERFORD – Dru Phillips is every bit of a 6-foot-4 and 230-pound menace between the lines, and because of that, there is not anyone in the NFL from whom he would back down.
OK, so here’s the secret: Phillips is only that size in his mind and heart, which affords him the mentality to play like that and squeeze every ounce of desire and punch out of his actual 5-11, 180-pound frame.
“Fearless” is the word that comes up most often when discussing Phillips with those inside the Giants‘ organization closest to his evolution in becoming their nickel cornerback, the defense’s X-Factor for Big Blue.
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Dexter Lawrence is the team’s best player, the top defensive lineman of his generation in doing what he does. Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux have had a big summer on the edges. Jevon Holland and Tyler Nubin might be the Giants’ most talented safety pairing since Antrel Rolle and Kenny Phillips.
And Abdul Carter? Well, let’s just say the rookie and No. 3 overall pick can change the way this defense is viewed from jump.
As for Phillips, he is part of the league’s revolution at the position and a Giant on the rise.
“You’re part defensive back and, at times, part linebacker,” coach Brian Daboll said of Phillips, 23. “He’s tough, and with his communication and his process of doing things, he’s taken a good step.”
He paused before adding: “And we need him to.”
Phillips wants to prove that he is so much more than an afterthought. The position’s name itself has become a misnomer, given the way the game is played nowadays in the NFL.
Nickel – coined for the fifth defensive back on the football field in sub-packages.
Two safeties, two cornerbacks to man either sideline and an extra player from the bench who lines up in the slot. That extra player has become essential, no longer a spare part.
“I remember, when I was growing up, people thought nickel was almost a bad thing – kind of just throwing a guy in there,” Phillips told NorthJersey.com and The Record last summer. “It’s like when you’re a slow safety, you’re a nickel. Especially with how the game is going now and how there is so much passing in the league, it’s changed. Also in college, I always wanted to play nickel the whole time. I didn’t really get an opportunity until my junior year. Once I got the opportunity I kind of like – I embodied it. I felt like it’s who I was. That’s what I did best, so I went all in on it.”
Much has been made about the addition to the secondary of top cornerback Paulson Adebo, the competition at CB2 between Tae Banks and Cor’Dale Flott and the presence of Nubin and Holland.
But Phillips’ anticipated development should not be overlooked.
Awareness. Understanding. Conviction.
“Mentally he’s really impressed me with his ability to handle everything that we ask a nickel to do,” Adebo said of Phillips. “Arguably one of the toughest positions, if not the hardest position mentally as far as knowing all the different checks that you have to do. And then also you’re basically a linebacker when it comes to fitting the run and knowing the run fits, but then also being able to cover like a corner because you’re out in space and you’re actually in more space. You’re in the slot. Guys can run all the way to the opposite sideline. They can run every route on you. So, I think his ability to cover, his quickness, and then his strength coming up and being able to tackle in the box is elite.”
The Giants paid close attention to what made Phillips special in the pre-draft process two offseasons ago as he competed against all shapes and sizes in practice at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala. and put all his tools on display.
Change of direction. Footwork. Hips. Closing speed. Football IQ.
Blend all of those qualities and you have the skill set to not only survive inside, but thrive against some of the league’s most dangerous receivers. Phillips has that in his game, and with so much area to cover in the slot, everything needs to mesh together for that player to succeed in the spot where offensive minds across the league look to gain the greatest of mismatches.
“So much going on at that nickel,” said Phillips, the 70th overall pick last year. “I like being in control a lot of times. You get to communicate more. You’re involved in the run game as well as the pass game. A lot of times on certain down distances, you know that ball is coming to you.”
And that takes a different level of competitor to embrace that challenge.
Phillips was certainly a contributor during his rookie season while playing 68 percent of the Giants’ defensive snaps. He underwent LASIK surgery this offseason to improve his vision and help in the tracking the football, which allowed him to “go attack more” in training camp.
Phillips has not had to search for motivation in his career. He’s always been able to keep that chip on his shoulder. As a freshman in high school, Phillips embraced what he considered a bit of disrespect for his talent. He purchased a dry-erase board and hung it on the wall in his bedroom with a pointed purpose. On it, Phillips wrote a giant zero to represent the number of college scholarships he had received to that point.
Before he went to bed at night, every morning when he awakened, Phillips stared at the ‘0’ and went to work. He competed on the practice fields and game day, then attended several prospect camps before finally receiving a scholarship offer that turned the zero to a ‘1’.
The scholarship tally continued to rise, reaching more than 15 over the next year, yet when it was time to make a decision, Phillips remembered who believed in him first – that initial offer was from Kentucky, and ultimately, that’s where he signed.
Phillips brings a physicality to the field as well. He’s not afraid to mix it up in the box, something that Giants defensive coordinator Shane Bowen wants from his corners. Typically, the most high profile corners in the league prefer to earn their reputation in coverage. Phillips has confidence he can do both.
“I feel like the sky is the limit for me,” Phillips said. “I just keep on stepping up and building blocks, but from last year to this year, it’s already been huge steps. I feel way more comfortable, I’m taking control of our defense in ways of how to set up and stuff. It’s one of those things where I just keep taking steps each day. I don’t know where I could end up at.”
If the Giants are to go where they want to go on the road back to respectability, Phillips is in position to play a pivotal role in helping them get this defense there.