Falcons Coaches Gush Over Clark Phillips III

Falcons head coach Arthur Smith, whose offense has warmed his seat, spoke glowingly about Atlanta’s fourth-round pick.

"Talk about a guy that consistently – it’s a long season for a rookie even when he wasn’t playing – but the guy comes in here early every week, competes every day in practice, and now he’s got his opportunity and has found that consistency,” Smith said. “He’s a fun player to watch. There are always things that you go back and watch Clark that make you smile when you see the tape – just little subtle things. He likes to play.”

Phillips joins rookie safety DeMarcco Hellams as a rookie contributor who has grown into a role as the year unraveled. Seeing defensive snaps in five games this season, Phillips has produced three pass breakups and allowed a passer rating of 58.5 – the lowest of any back-seven defender the Falcons have given legitimate snaps to.

There have been bumps in the road, as there will be with virtually any rookie defensive back, but his in-season growth has been admirable. According to Pro Football Focus’ defense grade, two of the best games of his young career have come in the last three weeks, headlined by a strong performance on the boundary in Week 16’s 29-10 win over the Indianapolis Colts.

Assistant head coach Jerry Gray joined in on the praise, too, a positive sign for a Day 3 pick.

“We’ve got good versus good. We see our guys competing. We see the young guys competing against Drake [London] and guys like that. And when it happened in the game, if the guy’s not shying away, that’s a good sign,” Gray said. “They threw a go-ball and he didn’t panic on the go-ball … So there are little things that you see him growing in and not panicking.

“And when you see that, you know he’s going to hopefully keep taking the next step.”

The Falcons’ playoff hopes may be doomed, but with two games to play, there’s room for Phillips to continue to carve out a role in the future of Atlanta’s defense.

That challenge resumes on Sunday when the Falcons (7-8) visit the Chicago Bears (6-9).