Stephen Hill and TY Hilton
Can we just go ahead and draft both of these guys!? Or grab at least one of them?
Stephen Hill will not leave the first round. That doesn’t leave much room for the Ravens drafting at No. 29. But say he falls to us and we don’t draft him, the 49ers are in the market, and don’t forget the Colts and the Rams at the top of the 2nd round.
Will another team grab him before us… probably. Teams like the Chargers who are going to miss Vincent Jackson are definitely considering Hill in the second half of the 1st round. Does he have polished route running yet? No. Does he know how to read NFL defenses? (Do any receivers coming out of college?)
But watch the tape, dude’s a freak. He has blinding speed (all 4.36 of him). He ‘PLUCKS’ the ball out of the air – one handed grabs are not uncommon for him. He is very physical breaking tackles and is an excellent run blocker.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kQWb4NXvJc
Who cares if he’s only good at hitches and 9 routes. At 6’4,” 225ish lbs, with a 40″ vertical he’s a man-child who excels at jump balls. Put him on the outside and let opponents pick their poison between Hill and Torrey Smith. You can’t double both of them, though opponents would be scared not to.
Torrey Smith had a great season last year as a rookie. While it’s true he lacked polish on his routes the first half of the year and had an occasional case of the ‘drops’….
Who single-handedly destroyed the Rams?
Who made the final catch to beat the Steelers in Pittsburgh?
Who played with a sports hernia for 3 and 1/2 months and still burnt opposing DB’s?
Can you imagine what this guy will do when he’s healthy… with an offseason to sharpen his skills… with a beast like Hill to distract the safeties. This guy is going to be a pro-bowler if not this year – next year. He’s an animal. He just runs by people. If he cut his hair, he’d of had 2 more touchdowns last year. In the NFL where wide receiver is the second hardest position for a rookie to come in and contribute Day 1, Smith was amazing. An unheralded phenom really. Torrey Smith’s season was one of the best rookie campaigns I can remember by a receiver.
Can you imagine if the Ravens had another burner opposite him like Hill, who seems to always win one-on-one matchups….
But let’s pretend Hill is off the board when the Ravens pick. Fine, grab Konz – and then give me some TY Hilton in the second, third, or fourth wherever they have him ranked.
We know the Ravens covet speed: 4.3 at his pro day.
We know the Ravens are looking for a punt/kick returner – 7 career TD’s watch the tape of this guy; comparisons to Devin Hester are understandable.
Plus Hilton is quick and electric with the ball. Once he learns NFL route combinations and proper angles, his athleticism is going to make some older-slower-wiser NFL defenders look stupid.
I don’t know when Hilton is going to be selected because he played against inferior talent at Florida International. But with his physical tools and ball skills (great hands and body control), I could see someone falling in love in the late 2nd round – ahem Baltimore.
With his diminutive stature there is a risk of injury. But with Roger Goodell’s reign of no-contact, flag football, No Fun League firmly in place, Hilton is protected, and will be a viable slot receiver who could be good for 6 or 7 TD’s next year.
Not to mention his KR/PR ability will protect Lardarius Webb.
What I secretly want is for the Ravens to Draft Hill in the 1st and TY Hilton in the 3rd – if they can manage it. I’m a product of the Madden era. I love points!
If instead we took Peter Konz or Donta Hightower in the first round, you know we’d be a much better team. But I want our opponents to fear our offense. Our ability to put up 30 points a game.
NFL teams already wake up in cold sweats the week they play Baltimore, because of our physicality. They know the pain is coming. But if we draft correctly this April, our opponents should be sick to their stomach on gameday when they see our SPEED. All football players are coached to be tough – it’s a contact sport. But we all know that feeling when there is a guy who is so quick, so fast, so explosive you know you can’t stop him. We have that in Smith. We could double dip with Hill (or triple dip with Hilton).
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