The Los Angeles Chargers selected KJ Hill, Wide Receiver, out of Ohio State University. He was the sixth pick in the seventh round and was the 35th wide receiver drafted in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Biography
KJ Hill is 6’0” and 196 pounds. He played four years at Ohio State and will be 23 years old at the beginning of the 2020 NFL season. The all-time leader in receptions in Columbus. He returned for his senior season after some convincing from Cris Carter. Hill competed for targets with a lot of NFL talent in Curtis Samuel, Parris Campbell, Terry McLaurin, Noah Brown, Binjimen Victor, Austin Mack, and Chris Olave.
College Production
KJ Hill never qualified for the 20% of receiving market share breakout age threshold for the Buckeyes during his four seasons. Hill’s best season (from a market share perspective) was his senior season after earning a receiving dominator rating (average percentage of their team’s receiving yards and receiving touchdowns) of 19.0% (16th percentile). His best season (from a raw stats point of view) was his junior season in which he had 70 catches, for 882 receiving yards, and six scrimmage touchdowns. Hill had unremarkable age-adjusted production. However, some analysts are downplaying the importance of weaker production from Ohio State receivers because of unproductive OSU wide receivers having recent NFL success. He averaged 582.8 scrimmage yards (43rd percentile) and 5.0 scrimmage touchdowns (49th percentile) per season for an average scrimmage dominator rating (average percentage of their team’s scrimmage yards and scrimmage touchdowns) per season of 7.2% (20th percentile). Hill wasn’t very efficient with his touches either and averaged 0.54 scrimmage yards per team play (28th percentile). Hill did contribute on special teams. He had 54 returns, for 418 return yards, and zero return touchdowns.
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Athleticism
KJ Hill has a puzzling height-adjusted speed score of 86.4 (26th percentile) after running a 4.60-second 40-yard time at the NFL Combine. Hill was thought to be a lot faster by most college football analysts. He has a grim burst score of 112.3 (10th percentile) too. Hill is a slot receiver that wins with technique compared to just raw athleticism.
NFL Landing Spot
Los Angeles Chargers: Philip Rivers is gone. The man the Bolts infamously moved on from Drew Brees for has blown town. For now, Tyrod Taylor is starting quarterback, but the Chargers are a favorite to take a quarterback with their first round pick at six. When Taylor was last a starter for the Bills in 2017 he was serviceable. Finishing with a passer rating of 89.2, Taylor struggled when targeting some areas of the field but found success playing to his strengths down the sidelines. The Chargers offense took a major step back last season. Falling from a 2018 rank of seventh, the Chargers finished with the 21st ranked offense. They ran the 23rd least plays, but still threw on 63.3% of them. This is an offense that should find its way again with Austin Ekeler signed to an extension and Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, and Hunter Henry running routes. And while that may seem like a solid core, there is more opportunity there than meets the eye. Yes, Keenan Allen did account for 25% of the team targets, and yes, 47% of the team targets went to non-WR players. But of that remaining 28%, Mike Williams accounted for 15% of those targets. Beyond that on the depth chart is a who’s who of role players, and 2019 sixth round pick Dylan Cantrell who missed his entire rookie season. Mike Williams is proving to be a field stretcher who doesn’t get a ton of volume, Hunter Henry has a lengthy injury history, and Keenan Allen will be a UFA after this season (although the Bolts will likely extend him). This is a team with no WR3 or TE2, leaving plenty of room for a new WR to carve out a role behind those three players. If something happens to Allen, Williams, and/or Henry (it will) someone new to the roster can easily become fantasy relevant.
***Editor’s Note*** The Los Angeles Chargers selected Joe Reed in the fifth round of the draft.
Rivals’ Rapid Analysis
KJ Hill is a possession wide receiver with unexceptional college production and athleticism. He will most likely need to rely on his route-running ability to win at the NFL level. The Los Angeles Chargers invested early-seventh round draft capital into Hill. He has a reasonable opportunity for a seventh-round pick. He will compete with Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, Hunter Henry, Austin Ekeler, and Joe Reed for targets from Justin Herbert and Tyrod Taylor.
KJ Hill is outside of Dave’s top 25 rookie wide receiver rankings and is not a target in rookie drafts. Hill has an unremarkable athletic profile, mediocre age-adjusted production, and insignificant draft capital paired with a lack of initial opportunity for the Chargers. There are other targets at the end of rookie drafts and waivers to target besides Hill.
KJ Hill isn’t a target of Shawn’s and should be a target of yours either. His lack of college production and seventh round draft capital all scream depth chart filler. If you’re intrigued by Hill anyway, add him to your watch list, not your roster, or try golf.
This article was written in collaboration with Shawn Kennedy. For more analysis check out Dave and Shawn’s previous articles at Dynasty Football Factory. Additionally, you can also find Dave’s dynasty superflex rankings at Dynasty Football Factory. Stay tuned for more rookie wide receiver rapid reaction articles from us throughout the entire NFL Draft. We will also give you instant reactions for priority UDFA wide receivers to help you try and find the next Adam Thielen. Interact with Dave and Shawn on Twitter @ff_spaceman and @ff_walrus. You can listen to our rivalry on our podcast @ATaleofTwoRivals with @ff_banterman.
Information found in this article was gathered from @ff_spaceman’s College Prospect Database, PlayerProfiler.com, Sports-Reference.com, AirYards.com, and a prospect’s college team website.
