Big Blue View
Phillips was “kind of blind”, but surgery has changed that
New York Giants cornerback Dru Phillips created havoc in the slot last year. He was one of the league’s most disruptive slot defenders despite being a rookie.
Phillips’ presence was one reason to be excited for the Giants’ secondary in 2025. Phillips was good in 2024, but how good could he be in 2025 with a year of experience in the defense, a full offseason, and having seen the speed of the NFL?
Well, Phillips gave us another question to ask: How good can he be now that he can see?
We learned on Thursday that Phillips underwent LASIK surgery to correct his vision over the offseason.
“I was kind of blind before,” Phillips said. “I hated wearing contacts and it was one of those things that made life a lot easier for me in that sense. I can see a lot better now and the procedure was easy. It’s like 15 minutes, but it was quick. I slept for like two days and I woke up, my eyes were great.”
Phillips had no interceptions in four seasons at Kentucky, and just one interception and one pass defensed as a rookie with the Giants.
“Seeing the ball in the air – that was one of my biggest problems,” Phillips said. “That dates back a long time ago but, especially this camp, I’m tracking the ball a lot better with the ball in the air, I can go attack more, I can just see the ball so it helps me in here and in outside life, like driving and stuff. It makes it a lot easier.”
The question naturally follows... If seeing the ball is important (and it is), how is it that Phillips never had corrective surgery before now?
The answer is that the Giants were the only team to care about his vision.
“That was a talk from before I got drafted here, with the upstairs people,” Phillips said. “It was one of [the] things where they were like, ‘You can’t see?’ They were the only team that cared about it. It’s one of those things I’m glad that they pointed out because I probably still wouldn’t have had it if no one said anything but it helped me out on an everyday basis.”
Eyesight isn’t the only improvement for Phillips this year. He’s significantly more comfortable after his experience last year, both in his responsibilities and in his communication.
“There were times last year I was just playing with my head on fire like I didn’t know – I was just running to the ball,” Phillips said. “Throughout the whole last season, I had my ups and downs, I learned and built off that coming into this year, I feel like I’ve taken a step and I’ve seen a lot more so now when I go in practice, it’s not like I don’t – like I know what’s probably going to come. The scenarios, third-and-short from third-and-long, like...
