Detroit Lions to have ball-hawking cornerback Clark Phillips in for visit

Pre-draft season is winding down, and the Detroit Lions have a top-30 visit scheduled with intriguing cornerback prospect Clark Phillips.

The headline for the Detroit Lions on Monday is Jalen Carter coming in for his pre-draft visit. According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, Utah cornerback Clark Phillips III is coming to Allen Park on Tuesday for a top-30 visit.

Phillips won Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year last year. He intercepted six passes and registered six pass breakups, as he was also a Unanimous All-American. In three seasons at Utah he had nine interceptions (four pick-sixes) and 21 passes defensed.

Despite the additions made in free agency, the Lions only have two cornerbacks under contract beyond 2023 (Cameron Sutton and Chase Lucas). Last week’s trade of Jeff Okudah took away a depth piece, even if it will not alter any prior plan to draft a cornerback.

2023 NFL Draft: Clark Phillips might be a great fit for the Lions

Phillips is undersized (5-foot-9, 184 pounds), and he did not test well athletically at the NFL Combine (4.51 40-yard dash, 33-inch vertical, 5.6 Relative Athletic Score).

But Phillips is versatile, having played 374 snaps outside and 214 snaps in the slot last year according to Pro Football Focus, and last week’s comments from Lions’ cornerbacks coach Dre’ Bly (via Ben Raven of MLive) point to a potential fit.

"One of the things that Dan (Campbell) and AG talked about was having high ball production guys,” Bly said last week. “Guys that make plays. It’s just not a lot of guys in my opinion — defensive backs throughout college and the league — I wish they could make a little more plays. And so it’s either in you or it’s not in you. And I think we’ve been able to bring in three guys that have been highly productive, they’re around the football and that was one of the things that we were looking for. Along with the rest of the guys that we have to add to the fold, and we excited.”"

Despite being as small as he is, Phillips better projects to be a perimeter corner in the NFL. Lance Zierlein of NFL.com called him a student of the game and a “football cinephile”. Analysts give him praise for his instincts and physicality, with Zierlein and Dane Brugler of The Athletic both using the term “twitchy” to describe his movement skills/athleticism.

In a deep class at cornerback, Phillips is in the tier below the top one and a projected second-round pick. The Lions could see a lot they like about him on tape, and getting a pre-draft visit in makes sense.