The Tennessee Titans kicked off their season on Sunday, suffering a brutal 21-20 loss to the New York Giants. In the midst of this, rookie wide receiver Kyle Philips stood out with nine targets and six receptions for 66 yards. The 189-pound rookie averaged 11 yards per catch, his longest reception being 21 yards.
In addition to being Ryan Tannehill’s top target, Philips also returned every punt for the Titans. The 5-foot-11-inch receiver returned 4 punts for a total of 62 yards, averaging 15.5 yards per punt. His longest punt return was 46 yards during the Titans’ home opener.
The Titans drafted Kyle Phillips in the fifth round, 163rd overall in the 2022 NFL Draft. Phillips played all four years of his eligibility at UCLA in his home state of California. Philips made an appearance in all 12 games as a redshirt freshman in 2019, starting nine of those.
The UCLA Bruin compiled 60 catches that season, the most by any freshman in the school’s history. Phillips was the first freshman to lead the team in receptions since 2001. Philips also averaged 22.5 yards per punt return that season which helped get UCLA second in the nation in punt return average.
in 2021, the receiver started 9 out of the 11 games he played. He ended the season with 10 touchdown catches (most in the Pac-12) while averaging 67.18 yards per game (2nd in Pac-12). Phillips also averaged 22.6 yards per punt return, his longest being 82 yards.
Kyle Phillips looks very promising as both a shifty punt returner and a reliable receiver. The Titans travel to Buffalo to face the Bills on Monday Night Football tonight as Phillips continues to make a name for himself here in Tennessee.
