New York Giants’ cornerback Dru Phillips picked up the first supplemental punishment of his career this week, when the NFL slapped him with a fine for ‘unnecessary roughness.” Phillips has been fined $7,292 for a hit on New England Patriots‘ RB TreVeyon Henderson that was deemed to be excessive.
The hit occurred with 4:20 remaining in the third quarter. With New England facing a 3rd-and-11, Pats QB Drake Maye hit Henderson with a check-down pass, which Henderson bobbled as he ran towards the sideline. As he was bobbling the ball, Phillips closed in on him and made a tackle just as Henderson reached the sideline.
Though a flag wasn’t thrown on the play, the NFL deemed it “unnecessary roughness” for a “hit on the defenseless player.” Henderson was bobbling the ball as he ran towards the sideline, so the NFL likely saw it as Phillips using an excessive amount of force to tackle a player that had effectively already given himself up.
Phillips is earning a little over $1 million dollars this year, so the $7,292 fine shouldn’t hurt the pockets too much, though it was probably an annoyance as he was looking to enjoy his bye week.
Phillips Logging Successful Season Despite Giants’ Record
As a team, the New York Giants have fallen very short of expectations this season. Individually, Phillips is having a solid season in New York’s secondary.
The second-year cornerback has registered two interceptions, 11 passes defended, and made 53 tackles amidst a losing season for his team. He’s proven that he is someone the Giants should prioritize retaining as they look to re-tool for next season.
New York selected Phillips out of Kentucky at No. 70 overall in the third-round of the 2024 NFL Draft. He delivered a solid performance in his rookie season and has improved in 2025 as a consistent performer for the Giants secondary.
Giants Move to Top of 2026 NFL Draft Board
Though they were dormant in week 14 during their bye week, the Giants got a great update on their draft positioning.
The Tennessee Titans, who were 1-11 heading into week 14, defeated the Cleveland Browns on Sunday to bring them up to 2-11, the same record as New York. Following that win, the Giants now hold the No. 1 overall selection in the 2026 Draft.
Now, New York controls it’s own destiny atop the draft board. If they lose out for the remainder of the season, they’ll retain that selection. The Giants face the Washington Commanders, Minnesota Vikings, Las Vegas Raiders, and Dallas Cowboys to finish the season.
If the Giants do grab the No. 1 overall pick, it would be interesting to see what they do with it. They don’t need a quarterback with Jaxson Dart in line to be the QB of the future, so it may be a scenario where New York would look to trade that selection.
They could certainly get a haul for it, considering teams like Las Vegas, Cleveland, and New Orleans will all likely be looking for a QB at the top of the draft.
The next four weeks may be a slog for Giants fans, but hopefully greener pastures await if New York finds itself atop the draft come April 2026.
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