[jwplayer CyWAa1YN-ThvAeFxT]
Last season, New York Giants rookie defensive lineman B.J. Hill set a team record for sacks by a rookie (5.5) and was named to several NFL All-Rookie teams.
One of the games that buoyed Hill last year was his three-sack performance in Week 12 against the Chicago Bears, who the Giants incidentally face this week.
“I just got in a groove that game,” Hill told the New York Post. “When you get hot, you get hot. Just like in basketball. That’s all it was.”
Unfortunately, Hill is right. That’s been his shining moment as a Giant so far. Coming into this season, there were high expectations for the former third round pick out of N.C. State — expectations that he has not lived up to here in 2019.
Through 10 games, Hill has yet to register a sack or even a quarterback hit. He also has no tackles for a loss. He isn’t outwardly concerned over his inability to fill up the score sheet this year.
“When other people are getting sacks, I’m happy for them,” Hill said. “Mine are going to come when they come. I’m not worried about it.
“I just come here and do my job, whatever the coaches tell me to do. Either way, I’m going to work as hard as possible. Whatever happens, happens.”
Since beginning of the season, Hill’s playing time has dwindled from playing 60-70 percent of the snaps to playing under 30 percent. He is seeing even less to accommodate Leonard Williams, who the Giants got in a trade with the Jets three weeks ago.
That has led many to wonder if the trade was prompted by Hill’s dearth of production. When the trade was first announced, it appeared as if Williams would become part of the rotation along with Hill, Dexter Lawrence and Dalvin Tomlinson. Now, it looks more like Williams was brought in to replace Hill.
Hill can play every position on the line and that will come in handy as the Giants continue to build and tweak their roster for the future.
“I’ve been all over, playing almost every position on the D-line. I can play them all,” Hill said. “I think the whole defense is still learning how to play with each other. On the D-line, we are all young, but we still have to go out and make plays.”
It’s too soon to give up on Hill, or any of the team’s young players for that matter, but at some point he’s going to have step up his game and get back to what made him so promising as a rookie.
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