The cons to Justin Hilliard
No player in 2021 draft helped himself more over past two months than @OhioStateFB LB Justin Hilliard (@JHilliard47). Former 5⭐️ overcame string of injuries to excel in CFP and was one of top performers Senior Bowl week. This drop & drive is exactly what NFL is looking for at LB. pic.twitter.com/9TMF7sgG8W
— Jim Nagy (@JimNagy_SB) February 11, 2021
Hilliard has an injury history that may scare teams away and they have taken away a little bit of his ability to be a sideline-to-sideline player right away. While he is good in zone coverage and in short man coverage, the longer the route goes the less reliable he seems to be. This shows up when he needs to flip his hips as they look a little stiff at times.
Hilliard also will need to work on his one-on-one, in space, shadowing of running backs coming at him. The slight issues he has in his hips and lateral agility show up with quicker, more shifty running backs. Unless he can shoot the gap and keep the play in front of him, asking Hilliard right now to trail a play will get, at best, mixed results.
Hilliard should be a late-round pick by a team looking for a special teams ace with need at linebacker depth. Hilliard could develop into a full-time starter should his lateral agility come back to where it once was and he can play coming downhill more than asked to play in space. He could go as early as the middle of the fifth to middle of the seventh round right now. He does, however, have some time to improve this in the coming months, especially on the heels of what he did during the Reese’s Senior Bowl.
All Ohio State football players eligible for the 2021 NFL draft
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