The Chicago Bears have a new member in their secondary after trading defensive tackle Gervon Dexter Sr. to the Atlanta Falcons in exchange for a fifth-round pick and cornerback Clark Phillips III. 

Dexter and Phillips were both a part of the 2023 NFL Draft. Chicago selected Dexter No. 53 overall, while Atlanta drafted Phillips with the 113th pick in the fourth round. 

Phillips played in just one game last season after being inactive the first two weeks. In his 2025 regular-season debut in Week 4, Phillips tore his tricep, ending his third year in the league. 

The 5-foot-9, 185-pound cornerbacks has played in 28 games, registering 63 total tackles, 10 passes defended, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and an interception. He's played a majority of his NFL career as a boundary corner. 

To provide some better insight on what Phillips brings to defensive coordinator Dennis Allen's defense, I watched the 2024 Week 18 matchup between the Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Panthers. 

Phillips finished that game with three total tackles, two passes defensed and a forced fumble. One quick observation about Phillips in Atlanta's defense from this game was that he would play the boundary and the field corner. You will see that in the clips below. 

Here is Phillips lined up just outside of the numbers on third-and-8. He is one on one with 2024 No. 32 overall pick Xavier Legette. Phillips opened up his hips and ran downfield with the Panthers' wide receiver. It's an inaccurate pass from quarterback Bryce Young, but Phillips' positioning would have made a completion difficult on this rep in the first quarter.

Here is Phillips again lined up opposite of Legette outside of the numbers towards the bottom of the screen. This time it's a third-and-5 situation early in the third quarter. Legette created some initial separation, but the Falcons' cornerback closed on the receiver, getting his hands on the ball to force an incomplete pass. 

With 35 seconds left in regulation, the Panthers tried to test Phillips on third-and-10 with the game tied at 38. Phillips played eight yards off the line of scrimmage and started to back pedal patiently. When receiver David Moore started to come back inside, Phillips was there to break on the route and force his second PBU of the game. 

Phillips is lined up on the numbers to the top of the screen. He back peddaled four yards before he recognized the pass to the running back. Phillips ran down hill and went low to tackle Miles Sanders, but the Panthers running back hurdled the Falcons' cornerback. However, Phillips did force Sanders to loose control of the football, fumbling it out of bounds for a 2-yard loss. 

As a smaller cornerback, it makes sense that Phillips went low for the tackle, but it leaves him vulnerable to being hurdled. 

Every Bears fan saw what rookie Zavion Thomas did on the team's first offensive play against the Tennessee Titans in Saturday's preseason finale -- running a stop and go on a vertical route that went for a 97-yard touchdown. 

Panthers wide receiver Jalen Coker attempted a similar move against Phillips, but he didn't bite on the move at all, preventing a potential deep pass down field. 

Phillips made a lot of positive plays against the Panthers, but here is one that hurt his team. The Panthers take the lead with this touchdown pass to Moore on a slant route. Phillips is lined up at the 1-yard line and back pedaled just inside of the white front end zone line. That was just enough space for Moore to catch the ball, turn up field and score a touchdown. That score gave Carolina a 31-24 lead with 1:02 left in the third quarter. 

On this play, Phillips is in a tough position. Young extended the play and then started to run towards the end zone. The Falcons' cornerback likely saw the running back in open space, which caused him to not move up and take Young. A decision needs to be made to prevent the touchdown run. 

There's a lot to like from Phillips tape against the Panthers in the 44-38 overtime loss. Now, he hasn't played much since this Week 18 game in 2024. The Bears clearly wanted to take a chance on the former fourth-round pick and maybe being in Allen's heavy man coverage defense is exactly what Phillips needs to unlock his full potential. 

One thing is clear, the Bears needed to add depth to the secondary. Phillips clearly fits that role and it could be more if he can maximize his opportunity in Chicago.