Past Production
Here are Brian Hill’s full NFL stats.
Rushing Stats:
| Year | Games | Carries | Yards | YPC | TDs | Fantasy Rank | Fantasy PPG | PPG Rank |
| 2017 | 7 | 11 | 37 | 3.4 | 0 | RB124 | 1.1 | N/A |
| 2018 | 10 | 20 | 157 | 7.9 | 0 | RB101 | 1.6 | N/A |
| 2019 | 12 | 78 | 323 | 4.1 | 2 | RB64 | 5.6 | 62nd |
Receiving Stats:
| Year | Targets | Receptions | Yards | TDs |
| 2017 | 2 | 2 | 36 | 0 |
| 2018 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 0 |
| 2019 | 14 | 10 | 69 | 1 |
The Falcons selected Hill in the fifth round of the 2017 NFL Draft. However, Hill never managed to gain any playing time behind incumbent starter Devonta Freeman and backup Tevin Coleman. Eventually, the Falcons demoted him to their practice squad, and the Bengals quickly poached him. Hill didn’t see much playing time in Cincinnati, but he saw the field in a few games.
Unfortunately, Hill didn’t make the Bengals 2018 53-man roster, as the Bengals released him in favor of fourth-round pick Mark Walton. After Hill’s release from the Bengals, the Falcons decided to re-sign him to their practice squad. Soon, they promoted Hill to their active roster after Freeman suffered an injury. Hill became the Falcons’ third running back behind Coleman and rookie Ito Smith.
Coleman and Smith split most of the Falcons’ running back touches, but Hill managed to average two carries per game. He averaged an impressive 7.9 YPC on those limited carries, although he was far from most dynasty owners’ radars. Hill was simply an afterthought after his first two NFL seasons.
Going into 2019, the Falcons let Coleman walk in free agency, and he signed with the 49ers. They drafted Qadree Ollison in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL Draft to compete with Hill and Smith for the backup role to Freeman. Out of camp, Smith won the backup job over Hill and Ollison. Smith split work with Freeman through Week 7, keeping Hill off the field entirely.
However, in Week 7, Smith suffered a season-ending injury, opening the door for Hill to claim touches. Hill didn’t do much in Weeks 7-8, but he received an opportunity when Freeman missed Weeks 10-11. In those two games, Hill totaled 35 carries, although he converted those into only 91 yards and no touchdowns.
Freeman then returned for Week 12, sending Hill back to the bench. Hill managed to average 5.8 carries/game from Week 12 to Week 17, the most work he had seen thus far in his career. He also played better as a backup than as a starter, averaging 5.5 YPC on his 35 carries. Hill didn’t do much to impress in 2019, and most dynasty owners thought he had missed the one shot he would likely receive.
2020 Outlook
After 2019, the Falcons released Freeman and signed Todd Gurley in free agency. They made no other additions to their running back room, leaving Smith, Hill, and Ollison to compete for the backup position once again. Recently, the Falcons named Hill the backup running back, and head coach Dan Quinn said that Hill is one of the Falcons’ most improved players going into 2020.
I don’t expect much from Hill if Gurley stays healthy. But, Gurley has dealt with injuries over the last two seasons. If Gurley goes down, Hill will step into the starting role, although I’m still not sure he can fully handle that. Therefore, he’s my RB62 in my 2020 rankings.
Dynasty Analysis
Like most deep dynasty stashes, I wouldn’t recommend trading for Hill. He could even be on waiver wires in some leagues, as Smith carries more name recognition than Hill. If you can grab Hill as a throw-in as part of a larger deal or for free, he’s likely my favorite stash right now. Gurley carries such a high injury risk, and Hill’s path to relevant touches is clear.
Thanks for reading this article. You can find me on Twitter at @DFF_Karp. I love to interact with anyone in the community, so reach out at any time! I take fantasy questions and help with all formats, so keep sending those questions my way.
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