Ebony Bird
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Baltimore Ravens: Justice Hill will be the offense’s best weapon

By Richard Bradshaw

NORMAN, OK - NOVEMBER 10: Running back Justice Hill #5 of the Oklahoma State Cowboys scores against the Oklahoma Sooners at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on November 10, 2018 in Norman, Oklahoma. Oklahoma defeated Oklahoma State 48-47. (Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images)
NORMAN, OK - NOVEMBER 10: Running back Justice Hill #5 of the Oklahoma State Cowboys scores against the Oklahoma Sooners at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on November 10, 2018 in Norman, Oklahoma. Oklahoma defeated Oklahoma State 48-47. (Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images) /
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Lost in the excitement of the Baltimore Ravens offense headed into 2019 is rookie running back Justice Hill, who could be the team’s greatest weapon.

Not long ago the Baltimore Ravens took a running back in the fourth round by the name of Kenneth Dixon. Dixon dominated college football during his time at Louisiana Tech and was expected to seamlessly transcend those talents to the NFL. Well, Dixon might just be out of a job now and be replaced by 2019 fourth round pick Justice Hill.

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Hill, who spent his college career at Oklahoma State University, is an outstanding athlete with speed, burst, and explosiveness out of the backfield. Hill is also a more than capable receiver out of the backfield, making him a jack-of-all-trades. With the OSU Cowboys, Hill teamed up with Mason Rudolph and James Washington to form one of college football’s best triplets of the last decade.

Now in the NFL, Justice Hill will look to stay unpredictable for the Ravens, whose new offense will be tailored to his strengths.

While Hill won’t be the lead back anytime soon, nor will he be a routinely featured player, I expect him to make the most out of all his opportunities. This is entirely because of the spaced out touches he will receive. We all know that Mark Ingram and Gus Edwards are talented and capable running backs who are proven players in the NFL. Because of that, the two will be expected to receive the majority of the carries coming out of the backfield.

Something they both lack, however, is the home-run ability that Justice Hill possesses. Edwards won’t be asked to be much of a receiver in his career, and Ingram is more than capable of catching 40+ balls. For Hill, he can catch the ball and then make something special happen. Similar to when the New Orleans Saints still had Ingram and C.J. Spiller, Baltimore will have its own secret weapon in Justice Hill.

This isn’t to say that Justice Hill is going to lead the team in touchdowns. Rather, when the ball is in his hands we should expect anything to happen. Hill could end up with just three touchdowns all season long, but he might have well-over 10.0 yards per reception. Even as a runner I expect Hill to be over 5.0 YPC.

Simply put, the expectation is that Hill may not get the volume Ingram or Edwards should get. However, short of Marquise Brown there isn’t a player on the Baltimore Ravens offense who is as explosive and versatile as Hill is. This makes Hill perhaps the biggest threat the Ravens have on their offense.

Next. 2019 Baltimore Ravens: 3 goals for Mark Ingram. dark

Justice Hill may only end up with ~50 touches all season long, but don’t be surprised if he ends up having more highlight reel plays than anyone else on the team. The rest of the NFL doesn’t know Justice Hill’s name yet, but by seasons end he will be one of the league’s most talked about phenomenons.

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