Raiders who saw their stock increase after their showing in the HoF game

Analyzing who saw their stock increase in Canton against Jacksonville.

Darius Phillips

There have been conflicting thoughts on Phillips throughout Raider Nation, but none of that matters much. What does is matter is the Raiders brought in Phillips because they believed the 27-year-old can ball, and on Thursday, he proved the team right.

Phillips was the first player Las Vegas agreed to terms with during free agency, striking a deal in the legal tampering phase. Phillips, who let up 9 completions on 11 targets in 2021, is hoping to get back to his ’19 form where he allowed a completion percentage of 37.5%. During his ’20 campaign, the former Bengal logged a career-high 12 pass breakups.

The first-year Raiders’ cornerback looked phenomenal in Canton, recording 3 tackles and forcing a fumble. Early on in the contest, Phillips made a great stop, tackling wideout Laquon Treadwell. Treadwell, a former first-round pick, was flipped into the air and initially thought to have fumbled the ball. The referees let the play go on with a fumble called on the field, although it was later overturned after reply review.

Phillips was all around the ball, making plays in both the passing and running games. Even The Athletic’s Ted Nguyen couldn’t help but tweet about Phillips.

Phillips is fighting to be higher in the cornerback rotation, as well as the team’s punt returner. The one return for 1-yard may not help his case on special teams, but the defensive outing did wonders for his stock on the defense.