The Baltimore Ravens have made a pair of additions to their running back room in recent days signing Le’Veon Bell to their practice squad and Trenton Cannon to the active roster.
This comes following season-ending injuries to the likes of J.K. Dobbins and Justice Hill. The additions of Bell and Cannon will look to make up for the losses of the team’s injured running backs.
In the case of Cannon, his replacement status could be taken a little more literal.
While Bell is hardly a direct replacement for Dobbins — very few players would be — Cannon is the ideal replacement for Hill. So much so that the two are nearly carbon copies of each other in terms of skill set.
The Ravens landed a Justice Hill clone in Trenton Cannon
For starters, Cannon and Hill have very similar physical attributes. Cannon stands at 5-foot-11 and weighs in at just 185 pounds — a small stature for a running back, but one not too dissimilar to that of Hill.
Hill, on the other hand, is just an inch shorter at 5-foot-10, but he weighs in at 198 pounds. Once again, very small for a running back, but each player makes up for it with their speed.
Cannon and Hill have made a living with their speed as both players ran identical 4.40 40-yard dashes at the NFL Combine. Their similar athletic tapes extend beyond that too.
Cannon registered a 38.5-inch vertical while Hill recorded a 40-in vertical. Cannon’s broad jump of 10-foot-11 is only slightly longer than Hill’s 10-foot-10 broad jump.
From a purely physical/athletic standpoint, Cannon and Hill are nearly identical. But it’s what they do on the field that makes them so comparable.
Neither player offers much in the way of offensive contribution. Hill had just 12 carries for 60 yards last year. He also hauled in five catches for an additional 20 yards.
Meanwhile, Cannon carried the ball 10 times for 33 yards while adding three catches for 16 yards in the air. Both players found a regular home on special teams, however. More specifically as gunner in punt coverage.
Cannon played 40 percent of his team’s special-teams snaps while Hill was on the field for 46 percent of Baltimore’s special-teams snaps.
Both Cannon and Hill are speedy, upright runners who don’t handle contact well and aren’t effective between the tackles. However, each of them can be effective as an off-tackle/receiving back who also doubles as a core special teamer.
The Ravens found their Justice Hill replacement. And they did so with a player who is eerily similar to his fellow running back — Trenton Cannon.