Jaelan Phillips praises Patrick Paul, says he backs up being a ‘s–t talker’

Offensive tackle Patrick Paul received some playing time as a rookie with the Miami Dolphins back in the 2024 season.

The second round pick back in the 2024 NFL Draft was one of only two of the team’s draft picks to suit up in all 17 games for Miami a season ago along with defensive end Chop Robinson, who was a first-round pick.

Heading into his second season in the NFL, Paul has already seemed to earn the respect of one of Miami’s better defensive players. Linebacker Jaelan Phillips said recently that Paul isn’t easy to face off against because of his knack for talking trash.

“He’s annoying as hell to go against — I’ll tell you that much — because he is a s— talker,” Phillips said.

Phillips praised Paul’s off-the-field demeanor and claimed that he’s a “great guy,” but he also made it clear that the youngster is able to flip a switch when he’s on the field.

“He is a great guy,” Phillips said. “He’s articulate, intelligent. He’s a very polite, gentle giant. But when he gets on that field, he’s a different animal. Which is a good thing. You want your tackles to be hardasses.”

Additionally, Philips acknowledged that Paul plays with an unshakable level of confidence.

“He’s always been a s— talker, but I will say that he backs it up more now,” Phillips said. “He’s confident in himself, which I think is such an admirable trait. Because, at the end of the day, there’s so many things that can knock your confidence. One thing that I noticed with him is I’ve never seen his confidence shake, no matter what, even if he’s losing reps. All he does every day is get our pass rushers better, get himself better.”

Phillips thinks Paul has a highly successful NFL career ahead of him. Paul is only 23 years old and perhaps hasn’t even scratched the surface of his full potential.

“During practice, I hate him,” Phillips said. “But afterward, only thing I can do is admire him, admire his physical presence and admire his skillset, admire his athleticism, admire his work ethic, his ability to make adjustments and corrections. I think he’s going to be a fabulous player. He already has made a big step in this league, so Patrick’s a badass. He knows how I feel about him.”

Paul still has plenty to prove at the highest level, but he’s gotten off on the right foot towards a long and successful tenure in the NFL. Miami selected Paul with the No. 55 overall pick in last year’s draft after he logged five seasons of college football at the University of Houston.

He projects to be a valuable component of Miami’s offensive unit in the coming season and for years to come.

While Paul is aiming to have a breakout sophomore campaign and solidify himself as a starting-caliber player at the highest level, Phillips is hoping he can simply stay on the field in the 2025 season. After Phillips suited up in every possible game for Miami in his rookie and sophomore campaigns, he has logged just 12 appearances across the 2023 and 2024 campaigns combined.

A season ago, he played in just four of the Dolphins’ 17 games after he suffered a partially torn ACL while facing off against the Tennessee Titans.