Jets' Stephen Hill on the way out?

wide receiver new york jets
Jets receiver Stephen Hill, foreshadowing his career, in 2012. Associated Press

In 2012 the Jets organization thought they had an answer to their woeful passing game when they drafted Georgia Tech wide receiver Stephen Hill in the second round. A few years later and now the New York franchise is trying to dump him, and no one is interested. According to Adam Schefter:



Here is a prospect who the Jets organization was so high on in 2012 they gave up a fifth and a seventh round pick to Seattle in order to move up 4 spots to nab Hill with the 43rd overall pick. Shortly after selecting Hill the V.P of college scouting for the Jets, Joey Clinkscales, compared the Georgia Tech prospect to none other than Megatron himself stating:
“He’s unique...he’s a 6-4 kid that’s 215 [pounds] and runs a 4.32. He’s a unique athlete, he really is. I mean . . Calvin Johnson maybe. I’m not going to put that label on him but from a height, weight, speed [standpoint] . . . . He’s just a unique athlete.”
Hill may have had all of the physical requirements to be a top talent, but he certainly hadn’t proved his ability to be a reliable receiver in the collegiate level. While at Georgia Tech he caught less than 50 passes during his three years with the Yellow Jackets. In the option offense they ran defending safeties needed to play closer to the line of scrimmage allowing a large speedy receiver like Hill to burn corners and get wide open down field. This was reflected in Hill’s 29.3 average yards per catch his junior year.

But for all of his athletic talent Hill could never do the one thing that every wide receiver needs to do, catch the ball. Every position in football has one unique trait that a player must master in order to play at the professional level. Running backs have to hold onto the ball, quarterbacks have to be accurate, and receivers need to catch. In 2013 Hill had been targeted 59 times but only caught 24 passes. He also lead the league in dropped catchable balls his rookie year dropping 22% of catchable balls thrown to him.

Should he be traded or cut Hill may develop into a reliable receiver on another team, but I think I can speak on behalf of all Pats fans when I say “Thanks for all the big plays you did NOT make for gang green Stephen, we’ll miss you.”

What do you think is Stephen Hill’s fate? Tweet us your response @PatriotsLife or tweet to me.

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Benjamin Dawes Post a Comment
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