Mel Kiper’s top 25 UDFA signings: Jaguars DE/OLB Carroll Phillips makes the list

The Jacksonville Jaguars will be hosting 64 rookies and first-year players at their 2017 rookie minicamp and one player among them will be Illinois defensive end-outside linebacker hybrid Carroll Phillips, who was surprisingly undrafted but was quickly scooped up.

Phillips was ranked as a Day 3 pick — somewhere around the sixth round on Mel Kiper’s big board — and he was picked as one of Kiper’s top 25 undrafted free agents to be signed after the 2017 NFL Draft.

Carroll Phillips, DE/OLB, Jacksonville Jaguars

Final Big Board rank: 185

I thought Phillips (6-3, 242) was a better fit for a 3-4 team, but he could be a situational pass-rusher for Jacksonville. Though he doesn't have premier explosion off the edge, he had nine sacks and 20 tackles for loss at Illinois last season. Jacksonville has some young defensive talent, but I could see Phillips making the team.

Phillips is a good prospect, as outlined by our friends at The Champaign Rooom here, and he can certainly rush the passer effectively. Can he elevate his game to the NFL level? We’ll start to answer that question on Friday.