Prospect evaluation of Mississippi State RB Kylin Hill for the 2021 NFL Draft, which includes his strengths, weaknesses, and projection.
Name: Kylin Hill
Position: RB
College: Mississippi State
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 210 lbs
= Key Terms =
Grading Scale: Poor, Marginal, Adequate, Solid, Good, Great, Elite
Role: Developmental Player, Backup, Complementary Player, Starter, Franchise Player
= Strengths =
Shows enough discipline to stick to the design of the run play when the blocking is there.
Impressive athlete with excellent movement skills overall.
Great quickness & agility; light on feet & possesses stop-start ability, cuts on a dime.
Great north-south burst; gets to top speed quickly which helps him win pursuit angles.
Good long speed; looked faster in 2020 after dropping some weight.
Good contact balance; sheds tackles frequently; looks like a pinball bouncing off contact.
Very aggressive and physical runner who seeks out contact.
Solid power & strength; won’t outmuscle defenders but isn’t weak by any means.
Good receiver; excels on screens, wheel, angle, and option routes out of the backfield.
Flashes the ability to pluck the ball out of mid-air with soft hands.
Good pass protector; shows awareness of blitz assignments and engages with good technique.
Great ball security; 1 fumble in 519 career touches, occurred in 2017.
= Weaknesses =
Adequate vision; doesn’t anticipate lanes well; lacks patience and creativity behind LOS.
Will often opt to engage with defenders head-on instead of running to open space.
Footwork and post-snap path are antsy and uncontrolled; cuts are sometimes over-exaggerated.
Gets caught sometimes trying to win the edge instead of getting upfield and using leverage of blockers.
More of an athlete playing RB than he is an athletic RB; needs to learn nuances of the position.
= Other =
Athletic build with a thick lower half.
= Projection (Role & Fit) =
Kylin Hill projects as a Solid Complementary player in a RB tandem/committee with upside of becoming a Great starter. He’s an excellent athlete who is dangerous in open space and forces missed tackles well. The ideal role for him on day 1 would be as a 3rd down / passing down RB, but he has the skillset to grow into a larger role. He has yet to show knowledge and nuances of playing the position from a mental processing and decision-making standpoint. He’s a fearless and aggressive runner but to a fault. His desire to seek out contact results in him leaving yards on the field too often. Hill has the physical tools to be a dangerous and versatile offensive weapon, but the mental tools as a runner need some work.
