Stephen Hill

diamondbull424 · Joined: 02 Dec 2007 Posts: 10017 Location: Baltimore, MD

I don't know about you guys, but while I wasn't sure exactly how to feel on Stephen Hill with the lack of tape on him (even more lacking until recently)... I'm getting the feeling that he's the Ravens pick. This is starting to feel eerily similar to the situation with Jimmy Smith last year... sort of (okay maybe "not really").

Big guy with insane potential that for much of the draft process I didn't really feel "comfortable" with because of a few reasons. With Jimmy it was character concerns and tackling ability... with Stephen Hill it's his career production and concentration.

But for both guys, you turn on the tape and you see impact players that probably have top 15 caliber "talent" to them... or at least potential. I mean you consider that Julio Jones was another guy who was known to have hand/concentration issues, yet last year he put on a complete freak show at the combine (even moreso than Hill did this year) and displayed the ability to be a legit hands catcher at the combine.

Now Jones didn't lack in production, but not having "elite" production was a concern for him, he also had some pretty serious durability concerns attached to him... he went 6th overall to the Falcons.

Hill isn't close to Jones' production level, but I think the point still stands to a degree. He displayed great hands catching ability in the gauntlet and receiver drills at the combine and looked good catching at his proday as well.

He wasn't "as much" of a freak as Julio Jones, but he was more explosive than both Jones (1.50s) and Torrey Smith (1.51s)... he ran a 1.48s in his 10 yard split. Outside of Chris Rainey's 1.47s, he was the only player at the combine to get below the 1.5 threshold. In perspective, Chris Johnson's 4.24 netted him a 1.40s and Mike Wallace's 4.28 netted him a 1.43s split... only Hill is 6'4" 215 lbs.

Also the weaknesses in Hill's game would be masked by our offensive system. We saw this with Torrey Smith. The outside receivers in our offense are running deep routes perhaps 75% of the time anyway... this allows Hill to utilize his awesome burst/speed combination to it's highest effectiveness, while he develops his route tree ability.

Cam Cameron's offense operates at it's most effective with two athletic freaks on the wings (Torrey Smith, Stephen Hill) while TEs, inside receivers, and RBs take advantage of the space left due to BOTH safeties having to play deep zones against that kind of athletic explosiveness. With San Diego Cameron had this with the likes of Vincent Jackson/insert other big explosive receiver. This gave Gates the room to be completely disruptive in the middle of the field- same with LaDainian Tomlinson. In our offense Boldin could play the role of Antonio Gates and/or Pitta/Dickson.

However in the event that the defense decides to leave a corner on an island... Hill and Smith both should have the explosive ability to make them pay along the outsides. Smith displayed this with his ability to get behind Darrelle Revis a couple times... and he's the best around. Now imagine adding Hill to the equation with an extra 3", 10-15 lbs to the equation, and more burst. What #2 corner is going to be able to contain either guy on an island? I can't think of many corner tandems that could handle that explosive ability. And at Tech, the one thing their offense is geared towards doing is getting their WRs on an island... and on an island, Hill dominated his opponents with a YPC average of 29.3... his big play ability cannot be understated.

The more and more I think about it, the more and more I'm thinking it'll be hard to pass on Stephen Hill if he's there... and I don't think we will. If Stephen Hill is there at pick #29, there's no doubt in my mind, he's the pick...
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Blind arrogance sows the field of it's own destruction. - Commander Greil, Fire Emblem

FlaccoForever · Joined: 12 Jul 2011 Posts: 280

gooselovechild · Joined: 29 Mar 2007 Posts: 2204

Hill is the biggest question mark to me of the WRs mentioned in the late 1st-early 2nd area of the draft.

Does he benefit too much from his impressive Combine? Yes, his YPC is very impressive, and Ga Tech's system isn't designed for WR success, but the fact that there was so little consideration for him prior to Indy makes me wonder if he isn't the Mamula of this draft.

If he's available at #29, would we benefit more by drafting him or by trading down adding extra picks? My personal opinion is that we should trade down and let someone else roll the dice. Sure, he might develop into a star, but there's enough of a bust factor that I'd rather be more cautious.

Will he even make it to #29? I think Chicago, Houston, and maybe the Pats could take him ahead of us.

I don't absolutely hate Hill as a prospect, but I have enough questions that make me very unsure about whether I would draft him in the 1st round. And right now, I think I'd rather bolster the OL and get a WR with a late pick.

coordinator0 · Joined: 18 Jan 2008 Posts: 5873

I think Hill has benefited greatly from the combine but it was more of a "hey lets go back and look at this guy" more than a "OMG look at those combine numbers this guy is awesome" type of reaction. I don't think he was going to be able to get a lot of attention from the public before because his production wasn't great nor was he a household name. I remember when Demaryius Thomas was recruited by Georgia Tech, he was labeled as Megatron's successor and had a lot of hype so people followed him more (Thomas was also more productive and a better prospect than Hill in my opinion). From what I gathered Hill was looked at as a 3rd/4th round pick (by publicly available scouting sources at least) before the combine. I'm not totally comfortable with him too because of his lack of production and sudden rise but I now think he's a good enough prospect, based on his current skills and upside, to consider in the 1st round and I would be fine with the pick. I'm also a sucker for receivers that can separate though.

Another thing is his fit in our system. I said it in the draft thread and db424 expanded on it here, Hill is pretty much exactly what you want in a receiver in this offense. Having Two vertically explosive threats on the outside opens up things for Boldin, Rice, Dickson, and Pitta on the inside and maybe Doss as well. To me there isn't a better fit than Hill for us in the draft, except Floyd. Hill looks like he has the ability to run routes other than just verts without rounding them off like you see with a lot of the other big WR prospects.

You guys remember my infatuation with WR prospects like Thomas, Nicks, and Williams in past years? It's happening again.

FlaccoForever · Joined: 12 Jul 2011 Posts: 280

RAVINGMADD · Joined: 15 Jan 2009 Posts: 2503

Hill's suspect hands are enough for me to not want to take a risk in the first round. If we trade down into the second, maybe, but there are so many WR's that we should take before Hill and similar guys available later. He just doesn't seem like a smart move unless we are really sure he's going to develop into a reliable #1 WR and I'm skeptical. If he drops passes when he's wide open, it doesn't matter how much separation he can get because he isn't going to be a reliable option. I just feel like if we have to rely on him in a clutch situation, it will be Lee Evans all over again, except way worse. I'd rather have one of the other big guys who, while they may not be quite as fast, have much more reliable hands.

drd23 · Posted: Sat Apr 21, 2012 11:44 pm Post subject:

I don't really see the comparison between the Jimmy Smith situation and Hill this time, but its hard to argue with everything else you wrote db.

Hill is absolutely exactly what we would look for in a WR for Cam Cameron's system, and the fact that his 10 yd split is better than Torrey's and only 0.05 of second slower than the best deep threat in the NFL would be tantalising. He would be able to provide us with the red zone threat that we don't currently have while opening up the underneath routes for Pitta and take a safety out of the box to open up running lanes for Rice.

But the fact that pretty much every GT fan I've seen comment on Hill as a prospect doesn't rate him as a 1st round WR because of his concentration/hands problems is a pretty big warning sign to me.
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HokieRaven5 · Posted: Sat Apr 21, 2012 11:49 pm Post subject: Re: Stephen Hill

MilleniumD2000 · Joined: 20 Jan 2009 Posts: 431 Location: Baltimore

I believe the negatives on Hill are fixable. His drops are more of a concentration issue then a bad hands issue. He knocks out three birds with one stone. He's a great blocker, redzone threat, and a deep threat to put opposite of Torrey.

Just think about this for a moment, a bigger faster Torrey Smith. I believe if we draft him we have our potential number 1 receiver we have been looking for for a long time. I just hope and pray that he's there at 29 so we have a chance to get him unlike the Dez Bryant fiasco.

Flaccomania · Joined: 12 Aug 2008 Posts: 16543 Location: Parkville, MD

For me, it'd really depend on who's on the board as to whether or not I'd consider it. I'd have him behind Hightower, Barron, Jeffery, Wright, Upshaw and Perry. If none of those guys are available, I'd probably roll the dice on Hill before picking Konz.
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diamondbull424 · Joined: 02 Dec 2007 Posts: 10017 Location: Baltimore, MD

I should've probably cleared this up above in the OP. This admission of the Ravens picking Hill isn't some sort of addendum to my mock draft. This is what I fully expect them to do.

As you guys can attest, this year has been VERY difficult to figure out exactly what the Ravens are probably looking to do at pick #29, but with my admission above, I feel as though I've cracked the code.

Reading between the lines of what information Ozzie and DeCosta have made known, looking at who we've brought in for visits, and combining all that with this "gut" feeling that I have, what I'm saying above is that I feel confident enough to guarantee that IF Stephen Hill is there at pick #29, we are going to take him. I believe this is the Ravens plan and has been their plan for quite some time now. Whether he lasts... is another question entirely.
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Blind arrogance sows the field of it's own destruction. - Commander Greil, Fire Emblem

RavensfanRD · Posted: Sun Apr 22, 2012 1:21 pm Post subject:

Look at my sig. I've been calling it since the combine. But I have mixed views on Hill since then. He has the measurables to really be a beast in this league. His hands being suspect is really killing me with him, though. I have a hate for guys with frauded hands. I just don't want to see us break a record of not getting the Superbowl because of another drop 3 years in a row.

But his potential big plays, speed and blocking skills makes me believe he can be the answer we've been lookin' for for so long. I would be happy if the Ravens grabbed him at 29, but I wouldn't be if we traded up for him. I think he'll be gone anyway before 29 and I have the Ravens trading up this year anyway regardless of who they pick.

Going against conventional wisdom and believe this will be the year we actually move up for someone.
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wackywabbit · Joined: 20 Dec 2009 Posts: 3853

^ Torrey Smith had suspect hands, but I don't think any of us would complain about drafting him again at pick 29.

(Not implying that Hill==Smith)

RAVINGMADD · Joined: 15 Jan 2009 Posts: 2503

gooselovechild · Joined: 29 Mar 2007 Posts: 2204