Harrison Phillips is now a member of the New York Jets and bring excitement with him to the Green and White.
The Jets landed Phillips in a trade with the Minnesota Vikings. On paper, he slots right in as a starter next to Quinnen Williams at defensive take on New York’s defense.
That could mean the 29-year-old will be an impact-maker right away… so you’ll want to get to know him a little better.
With that, here are seven things to know about the Jets’ new defensive lineman:
Familiar with the Jets
At the top, Phillips is a known name in New York because he has faced the Jets plenty in his career. He entered the NFL in the AFC East with the Buffalo Bills as a third-round pick out of Stanford in 2018.
In 99 career games (62 starts), Phillips has eight sacks, a forced fumble, 314 tackles including 15 for moss. In eight times facing the Jets, Phillips has a sack and 11 tackles including two for loss.
Why he was traded
Phillips was a surprise trade because he is a prove NFL player and the Jets might’ve gotten a steal.
So why was Phillips traded?
The Vikings have a deep defensive tackle depth chart… which allowed Minnesota to gain much needed cap space next offseason. The Vikings opened up $7.5 million in cap space in 2026.
Former wrestler
After being drafted by the Bills, Phillips explained how his experience in another spot helps him in the trenches: Wrestling.
“Physically, it helps with my hips, hands, flexibility and violence,” he told the Bills’ website. “Mentally, it helps with my competitive edge. In football, there are many players responsible for every play. In wrestling, you can’t blame anyone but yourself. I take that same mentality in the weight room, the meeting room and on the field.”
Will get involved around town
Throughout his seven-year career, Phillips has become involved in the community he lives in. Expect that to continue in New York/ New Jersey. Phillips gives back routinely which is shown by him being selected as his team’s Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee multiple times.
His ironic nickname
Phillips is a good guy, but his nickname? It’s “Horrible Harry.”
Why? His mother, Tammie, explained to the Mercury News in 2017 that it just had to do with a her reading her son the popular children’s book series “Horrible Harry,” as a child.
“It wasn’t that he was so horrible,” Tammie Phillips said. “We read all those books and he loved it and he thought it was funny that he was named that, too.”
Motivation since sixth grade
Phillips started his drive to the NFL all the way back in the sixth grade. How so? He put the NFL logo as his cell phone background.
It worked.
PFF grades
Jets head coach Aaron Glenn explained one of the reasons Phillips was coveted was because of ability defending the run… and that checks out on Pro Football Focus.
Phillips did not have his best year last season, but in the past he has graded among PFF’s best run defenders. In 2021 he was named the fifth-best in the NFL (79.8 grade) and in 2022 he slotted in at 13th (73.6).
This article originally appeared on Jets Wire: 7 things to know about new Jets defensive tackle Harrison Phillips