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Stephen Hill is one of the real mysteries of this draft. Anybody who claims they know what kind of pro he is going to be has got to be kidding.
We are talking about a wide receiver that only had 49 catches in his college career. That is underwhelming to say the least.
Now, it’s hard to blame him too much for his underwhelming stats.
The last four years he played under head coach Paul Johnson, who runs a play called, “The Triple Option” quite a bit.
So needless to say, the Ramblin’ Wreck of Georgia Tech, don’t throw the ball very often.
Last time I checked, Hill isn’t able to throw the ball to himself.
But with so little production, it’s hard to justify a first round pick on Hill. The second round was the right place to pick him.
The second round is a good place to gamble on greatness, and that is what the Jets are going.
From a workout standpoint, Hill is freakish. At 6-4, 215 pounds, he ran a 4.3 forty at the combine. That is faster time than Santonio Holmes’ ran. “Tone” ran a 4.35.
But on top of that, he had a 391⁄2-inch vertical leap and an 11-1 broad jump.
So in other words, he can jump out of gym.
When you are 6-4, and can leap like that, it stands to reason very few defensive backs are ever going to win jump balls against you.
So expect the Jets to run a lot of nine routes, otherwise known as the “fly” or “go” route. The concept of this route is simple – just run straight up the field.
While Georgia Tech had a limited route tree in their run-happy offense, this is a play they ran, so Hill is comfortable doing it.
Hill needs a lot of work on his route-running, and needs to expand his route-tree. He also needs to sell his routes better.
But in the mean-time, he can help the Jets by blowing the top of the defense on the nine route.
And just as importantly, he’s going to be a big asset to their running game.
While the Georgia Tech offensive approach stunted his growth as a receiver, it helped him evolve into a heck of a run blocker.
And considering the Jets want to be a run-first team, with Shonn Greene, Bilal Powell, Joe McKnight and Tim Tebow, Hill is going to be a major asset as a wide receiver who is already a terrific blocker.
In closing, it’s very hard to find anything negative about this pick.
The kid has a lot of work to do to hone his receiving skills, but by all accounts he’s a very hard worker, so the arrow is pointing way up on this prospect.
But it’s so hard to say how this is going to work out, because he’s a project.
But with his amazing natural gifts, and great attitude, there is a very good chance it does work out . . .
Just one other thought on the Jets’ late picks (I will get into these guys more over the next few days). Seventh round safety Antonio Allen could turn out to be one of the late round steals of the draft. He was a middle round prospect, who fell through the cracks. He could really help the Jets covering tight ends. He’s a shade under 6-2 and runs 4.6. Not only is he a good coverage safety, but also very willing in run support. Keep an eye on this guy.
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