Stephen Hill was drafted by the New York Jets.
Hill wowed onlookers at the NFL scouting combine and propelled his stock into the second round despite coming from Georgia Tech and their option offense where he managed only 28 receptions in 2011.
With that said he did manage 29.3 yards per reception for a total of 820 yards which is quite impressive. What is even more impressive is his 2012 NFL combine best 4.36 40-time coupled with the explosiveness he showed in his receiver combine best broad jump.
And he did all of this at 6’4.
The Jets are hoping he will follow former Georgia Tech receivers Calvin Johnson and Demaryius Thomas in being able to make a successful transition to the NFL despite not having the benefit of playing in a pro-style offense in college.
Hill has the chance to become something special in the NFL with a receivers coach working with him throughout the season.
Once Hill can get his route running down, Hill is bound to cause major problems for opposing defenses with his speed, height and vertical skills, both downfield and in the air, especially if he is afforded the luxury of playing as the number two receiver with single coverage.
Megatron meet Starscream.
Here is what others had to say about Hill:
“National Football Post: The Jets, in need of another big-play threat on offense, got the draft’s top size/speed combo. Hill is a developing route runner, but he’s explosive down the field, can track the football and could mature into the best receiver to come out of the class. NFL ceiling: No. 1 wideout. NFL floor: Inconsistent vertical threat.”
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“Hill has an excellent blend of size and top-end speed to stretch the field vertically. Hills is raw, though, coming from Georgia Tech’s triple-option scheme, and will need time to develop his underneath route running. However, he does a good job tracking the ball in the air and has a knack for making the tough catches outside of his frame.”
“He fills a significant need for an offense with a lot of complementary guys. The Jets have only one playmaker in Santonio Holmes and because of that Holmes gets a lot of attention and rolled coverages. Hill is enough of a deep threat to really open up some defenses and with the Jets’ new effort to run the football, he could become an effective play-action receiver. His size should give them good third-down and red zone production. He should also be able to help move the chains.”
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Fantasy Analysis:
Stephen Hill – Stephen Hill is expected to step in and become one of the top rookie wideouts from this class. What that means on the field with the likes of Sanchez and Tebow throwing him the ball remains to be seen. Hill is explosive and possesses the speed to stretch the field on every play and should see a ton of single coverage across from Santonio Holmes, which will eventually lead to Sanchez targeting him more often than Holmes in certain situations. At 6’4 Hill could and should become the preferred red-zone target on this team before long. Hill projects as a flex player with WR3 upside in his rookie season. In dynasty leagues he has the potential to be one of the best receivers in this class and the premier deep threat. We like him as a first round pick in 12-team dynasty leagues and as a top-7 receiver in this loaded rookie class. Eventually we see him settling in as the Jets number one receiver and a steady WR2 for years to come.
Santonio Holmes – Santonio Holmes may not be a very happy man in 2012; opposing defenses are still going to roll double coverages his way and with a bigger, faster, more explosive option across the field from him facing single coverage Holmes may see even less targets than last year. The Jets have promised to return to a ground and pound style of offense which will further limit Holmes’ value in 2012. We have Holmes projected as a WR3 with WR2 upside. He will be inconsistent throughout the season so we do not recommend spending a draft pick on him if you intend to use him as a WR2 or better.
Dustin Keller – The addition of Hill should hurt Keller’s numbers. Gone is his high-end TE1 upside and we are now looking at a low-end TE1 with a TE2 floor. Keller will make an excellent second tight end or bye week filler but will not see a repeat of his 115 targets from 2011.
Shonn Greene – The addition of Hill is good news for the run game as it gives the Jets another player who can stretch the field for the run game. With two playmakers at the wide receiver position, opposing defenses will be kept honest and Greene could finally live up to the potential we all thought was destined to shine in Greene’s first season as the full-time starter. We have Greene pegged as a RB2 with an RB3 floor.
Mark Sanchez – The addition of Hill means Sanchez has no more excuses. He finally has two good receivers who are not past their prime and the addition of Tim Tebow means the kid gloves are finally off in New York. We believe in Sanchez’s talent but suspect system and receiver issues have been the culprit in holding him back these past few years. Holmes and Hill are a formidable wideout duo and should, on paper at least, help Sanchez to a couple QB1 worthy games this season. Sanchez remains a QB2/bye week filler for the 2012 season but has a very low floor with newfound job security and snap count issues with Tebow in town.
Tim Tebow – Tebow will likely lock on to Hill similarly to what he did to Demaryius late last season if given the chance to start. A QB like Tebow prefers to throw to big targets with big speed and Hill certainly fits the bill. Hill has a chance to reach WR2 territory with Tebow as the starter while Holmes would likely fall into flex territory.
Now for some highlights:
