NY Giants' Dru Phillips: Secret to making camp noise is learning how to shut up and listen

EAST RUTHERFORD - Dru Phillips is learning a lot about the NFL, and what he believes it will take to be the best player he can be as a rookie cornerback for the New York Giants.

The playbook.

The speed of the game.

The defensive philosophy both schematically and in the mind of Shane Bowen, the Giants' new defensive coordinator.

Oh, there's one other thing that has helped Phillips accelerate the curve from college star to draft pick in the pros, so to speak: Knowing when to shut up and listen.

And because of that, Phillips is starting to make plenty of noise with his play as training camp rolls on.

"I’m one of those kids that likes to ask questions and I’m antsy," Phillips said with a laugh. "So, there’s times where I’m like, ‘But if I did this, this would be,’ and it’s like, ‘No, our playbook is this and what we have.’ [Defensive passing coordinator and secondary coach Jerome Henderson says] if you do this and be in the right position, and I trust him, a play is going to come to me if I’m in the right spot."

That's beginning to happen regularly at Giants practice with Phillips' ascension to a more prominent role taking place not just day to day, but seemingly period to period in a given session. The third-round pick was always pegged to become the Giants' nickel corner, manning the slot in one of the league's most challenging positions.

Phillips worked with the second team for much of the spring as Giants defensive passing game coordinator and secondary coach Jerome Henderson continued to preach patience to his Day 2 additions in the NFL Draft: Phillips and second-round safety Tyler Nubin.

All the while, the Giants have been preparing for both Phillips and Nubin to play significant roles from the outset. The idea was to give them the opportunity to make mistakes and learn from them throughout the spring, taking in as much intel as possible in order to make sure they were ready when the summer rolled around.

"It's like touching that hot stove. Until you touch it and know that it's hot, it's not hot until you have to touch it," Henderson said. "With the rookies, I want them to touch the hot stove as much as they can now so that by the time we're playing across the street [at MetLife Stadium], they know that, 'OK, that stove is hot, don't touch that.'"

Phillips started camp in dime packages with the first team. He was the second-team nickel and got some time on the boundary in certain packages, too. By Sunday's fourth session, Phillips was splitting time with Nick McCloud as first-team nickel, and the former opened eyes with a tremendous read-and-react play to break up a screen to Wan'Dale Robinson.

The Giants put the pads on Monday and Phillips splashed big-time, especially when it was time to show his physicality in run-heavy drills. Phillips shot through the gap on the second play with the offense backed up in its own end and stood up running back Eric Gray behind the line of scrimmage.

"I'm glad we got pads on because now you can actually go put your body on somebody," Phillips said. "I feel like coming in here that's one of the main reasons why they got me here is my physicality. Something just sparked in me [in Monday's practice]. If I go shoot, I'm going to hit somebody. My first rep in the backfield, coach was like, ‘You didn't do enough.’ I thought it was a little thud-up, so then the second one I kind of went too hard. I think the main thing is just really just the will, you want to go do it. If you have that mentality, it's going to happen every time."

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.

The Giants paid close attention to what made Phillips special at the Senior Bowl as he competed against all shapes and sizes in practice. The gritty defensive back from Kentucky put all his tools on display.

Change of direction. Footwork. Hips. Closing speed. Football IQ.

He's not afraid to mix it up in the box, something that Giants defensive coordinator Shane Bowen wants in 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, and so do the Giants, who believe he can play the boundary if needed. His game is not limited to one spot or the other.

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.

"We have the play call and you’re thinking so much about what could happen, but at the end of the day, it’s trusting your gut," Phillips said. "And if you feel like you can make a play, go make the play. It’s things like that, that you just have to trust yourself where you may overthink, but just do it. If you’re going to mess up or do something, do it at 100%. That’s what I’ve been told, so that’s the mentality I have."

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NY Giants' Dru Phillips: Secret to making camp noise is learning how to shut up and listen