Brian Hill could be surprise impact player for the Atlanta Falcons
Last Thursday night, Atlanta Falcons second year running back Brian Hill, showed everyone watching that he used the off season to improve and make a statement on who should back up Devonta Freeman.
Dan Quinn and the Atlanta Falcons must like what they saw out of Hill in his extended performance. He got an opportunity to be a weapon in multiple ways for the Falcons in the Hall of Fame game and his final numbers that night were not indicative of what he has to offer.
Dan Quinn told media last week that he was very happy with the improvements that Hill had made, especially as a pass catcher out of the backfield. We saw that Thursday after he caught a one-yard pass from Kurt Benkert for the Falcons lone touchdown of the night.
He also ended the night with 57 rushing yards, though he did have a beautiful tough run of 17 yards that was called back after Hill dipped his head and made contact with Broncos safety Dymonte Thomas; Thomas dipped his head as well on the play.
Coming into the preseason, the thought was Hill was going to battle Kenjon Barner and rookie Tony Brooks-James for the fourth running back spot. However, according to the newest depth chart released by the Falcons, Hill has jumped to third on the depth chart while Qadree Ollison has slipped to fifth.
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If Hill continues to improve this preseason, he will make a case to replace Ito Smith as the actual backup to Freeman. A lot has to happen between now and the end of the fifth pre-season game, but if last week was any indication, Hill could be the player that takes many by surprise and has a bigger impact that many expected coming into 2019.