Analysis: Jeremy Hill brings between-the-tackles toughness reminiscent of a former Patriots RB

The addition of Jeremy Hill is a classic case of the Patriots buying low on a running back who has shown flashes of talent in the past, but for whatever reason, needs a career reboot.

The 25-year-old is a 6-foot-1, 233-pounder who was a second-round pick of the Bengals out of LSU in 2014. In four years and 54 games — 43 starts — he had 704 carries for 2,873 rushing yards (4.1 yards per carry) and an impressive 29 rushing touchdowns with Cincy. In addition, he flashed a bit as a pass catcher, with 67 receptions on 82 targets for 484 yards and a touchdown.

His first two-plus years in the league were really impressive — as a rookie in 2014, he rushed for 100-plus yards in five games. He was also one of the most physical runners in the league as a rookie, averaging 2.29 yards after contact, fourth-best in the NFL.

But for a variety of reasons, he fell out of favor in Cincinnati, and midway through the 2017 season, he was placed on injured reserve because of an ankle issue. The Bengals didn’t shed any tears, however, as they had become clearly enamored with highly-acclaimed youngster Joe Mixon, who assumed full-time status when Hill went down, and will be the feature back in Cincy now going forward. There’s also Gio Bernard to consider, which really left little work for Hill with the Bengals.

So how does he project in the New England system?


He will be part of a collective, working with another former Bengal in Rex Burkhead and new teammate James White, as well as part-timer Brandon Bolden, (perhaps) Mike Gillislee, as well as at least one draft pick.

Two notes: One, I wonder if this spells the real end for Gillislee. Hill was a good red-zone runner from 2014 through 2016, with 40 carries inside the 5-yard-line combined those three years, and a league-high 11 rushing touchdowns in 2015, 10 of which came in the red zone. That could make Gillislee expendable. Regardless, Hill should have the short-yardage role, at least right now, and that’s an area where the Patriots could really use a bump. As Greg noted here, one of the few weaknesses in the Patriots’ offense last year was in short yardage: they ranked 24th in third- and fourth-and-1 conversions. Hill figures to help there.

And two, an alert BSJ commenter (91AZ, over here in the comments...) made a really good comparison to Hill’s career arc — Antowain Smith. Smith was also a bigger back who could catch a bit out of the backfield, and enjoyed a successful first couple of seasons in Buffalo before needing a career reset at the age of 28. Not overly flashy, Smith discovered a new life with the Patriots, coming as close as any back has ever come under Bill Belichick in rushing for 1,000 yards in back-to-back seasons, with 1,157 in 2001 and 982 in 2002.

When watching his work, there was so little of it last season with the Bengals — he played just 77 snaps in 2017 before going on IR with an ankle injury — to get a true sense of what sort of back he is, we had to go back to 2016 when he was the closest thing Cincy had to a feature back. That year, he played 443 offensive snaps, or 40.75 percent. Basically, he’s a downhill back who runs hard. He didn’t get as much of an opportunity to do it the past two years as he did in his first two seasons in the league, but he’s more of a physical presence, as opposed to one who might be considered elusive. You’re not going to get a lot of breakaway home-run sort of carries with him — when things are rolling, he’s the type of offensive option that’s hitting an opposing defense for four and five yards at a time.

His biggest drawback in the New England system might be his pass-blocking skills. Running backs coach Ivan Fears makes blocking a priority for his guys, and a look at the film shows that he can be a less-than-willing blocker at times. PFF had him with a 2016 pass-blocking grade of minus-2.3. One other thing? His ball security might be a concern. Hill coughed up the football eight times in his first two regular seasons (and once in a memorable playoff loss to the Steelers) and only once in the last two. As White has frequently said, ball security is job security.

But after watching roughly half of his snaps from 2016, here are a few that really stood out. Nothing overly flashy — just mostly sturdy between-the-tackles work.







As we said, he's shown himself to be a dependable red-zone threat -- he picked up this touchdown against the Giants behind a terrific series of blocks and some good misdirection. (Dig the shimmy at the end.)



He’s not going to wow people with his speed, but if he can get a good seal, he is capable of getting to the outside on occasion.



But truthfully, those sorts of runs are few and far between with him. He appears to be more comfortable as a mostly interior back. If it all works out, I can see him spending a lot of time running behind David Andrews, Shaq Mason and Joe Thuney in 2018 like he did here a couple of years back.



Here’s what I mean about his blocking skills. This came on a play that many New England fans will remember — Dont’a Hightower’s safety against Cincinnati in 2016. On this play, Hill gets caught in the middle, and simply tossed aside by Malcom Brown. I’m hesitant to call him out as the reason for the sack, but he was clearly unsure what to do there, and just got caught up in the wash.



In the end, Hill is a bit of a throwback back. In an era where teams are looking for do-it-all types who can succeed carrying the ball and working as a receiver out of the backfield, Hill is more of a traditional presence. If he's going to be the latest in a long line of backs who enjoy a career rebirth in New England, it'll come as a between-the-tackles option who will be the go-to guy in short-yardage situations and in the red zone, all while serving as a complementary piece of the offensive puzzle to the likes of Burkhead and White. Ultimately, if Hill can be anywhere near as productive in the second act of his NFL career like Smith, my guess is the Patriots will be happy with their decision.