Top 10 running backs in the 2021 NFL Draft

#6 2021 NFL Draft Prospect: Kylin Hill (Mississippi State)

[5’ 10”, 215 pounds; SR]

Kylin Hill

Once a four-star recruit, Kylin Hill basically doubled his rushing yards from years one to three till he opted out three games into the COVID-19-affected 2020 season (leaving the field after just one carry in that third one).

Hill won the starting job from Aeris Williams in 2018 (who was coming off a 1250-yard season) because of how much more of a dynamic ball-carrier he was. As a sophomore starter, he averaged 6.3 yards per carry and reached the end-zone eight times. He put up career-highs in 2019, with 1530 total yards and 11 touchdowns, while averaging 5.6 yards per rush in the SEC, making the second-team all-conference.

This guy has a nice bounce to his step as he reads and sets up his blockers, utilizing hop steps and sudden bursts while being able to slither through tight creases.

I love how he reduces his shoulders and dips away from defenders, combined with his superb hip mobility that allows him to make those hard cuts and also pivot off the inside foot. Hill has a good burst to get through the second level untouched or turn the corner consistently.

He utilized that at Mississippi State, where he was used as the outside element on invert veer plays. Once he gets into open space, he can really freeze defenders with the way he stops his feet and then re-accelerates. Often times, you will see him get defenders to open their hips towards the sideline and then use a little side-jump to get underneath and back upfield.

Those moments of hesitation moves make him a unique ball-carrier, which includes something you could call the 'lazy leg', where it looks like he just kind of leaves his foot behind. And he can utilize spins and jukes to get out of the grasp of potential tacklers.

Nevertheless, Hill is far from being a finesse player. He has excellent contact balance and keeps himself alive through big hits routinely. When he has to take a tackler head-on, you see him pull his pads through contact and kind of shrug off defenders that way.

And he uses that off-arm with great timing and placement to kind of push himself off defenders and seemingly gain speed. He dropped the shoulder on a Kentucky defender at the sideline last year, and that guy went straight to his back.

Hill only carried the ball 15 times last year but caught 23 passes for 237 yards in those two games he actually contributed in, as part of Mike Leach’s Air-Raid offense, which would have probably turned him into even more of a star.

That included an 80-yard touchdown in the season-opener against LSU, where the defense lost him on a wheel route, thanks to a coverage bust, as nobody trailed him on a motion and then he forced a missed tackle by the free safety at the sideline to cash on.

Hill was very advanced with his route-running at MSU, working downfield as a primary on wheels and even deep corner routes. He is absolutely filthy on angle routes, with a dynamic cut back underneath defenders that allows him to create nice separation on option patterns.

However, I also absolutely love the work he puts in as a pass-protector for what really is a smaller back. He is so patient in sitting down on his stance and initiating contact with approaching blitzes with good flexion in his knees and timing.

Yet, not only does he have the lateral movement to slide in front of defenders, but he also has the quickness to work across the formation to pick them up. He also dished out a few monster blocks when leading the way for his quarterback. And he received a lot of delayed touches on shovel screens and draws.

The aspect that jumps out right away about Hill physically is that he has a very thin torso, even though he has good muscle in his lower body. As much as I like his game, I don’t envision him carrying the ball 20+ times a game at the pro level more than every once in a while.

While he does get around plenty of defenders, he gives up a lot of ground when doing so and actually loses quite a bit of space in the process, which could result in more negative plays against NFL speed.

You can argue that he is kind of a one-speed runner. The receiving production is there, and there’s certainly stuff that intrigues me, as he is a route-runner. But he surprisingly really struggles catching the ball on swing routes when it isn't put right on him, and his approach of trying to cradle the ball seems very odd to me.

While Hill is certainly on the slim slide in terms of his hips up, he has a dense lower body, enabling him to churn out yards through contact.

When I went back to watch the tape and analyzed him individually on every play, I came away much more impressed than I thought I would be initially. I don’t envision him being a true feature back, but he could be a very productive player as part of a one-two punch, where he could be an above-average option on third downs as soon as he steps on the field – which is very rare for a rookie.

Hill also didn’t fumble in three years as a starter and last put the ball on the ground mid-way through his freshman year – that’s 468 touches since then!