Broncos Sign FB Peyton Hillis

by John Bena on Jul 16, 2008 3:35 PM MDT in Roster Moves Comment 12 comments

Hat tip to SirSam and his FanPost with the news. Here is the official release --

The Denver Broncos on Wednesday signed fullback Peyton Hillis, whom they selected in the seventh round (227th overall) of the 2008 NFL Draft from the University of Arkansas. As per club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Hillis (6-foot-2, 250 pounds) totaled 2,624 career all-purpose yards and 23 touchdowns as a three-year starter at Arkansas, where he helped clear the way for two-time Heisman Trophy runner-up Darren McFadden. Hillis played 44 career games (29 starts) at Arkansas, posting school records for running backs in career receptions (118), receiving yards (1,195) and receiving touchdowns (11).

He also registered 203 career rushes for 959 yards (4.7 avg.) with 12 touchdowns while adding 257 career punt return yards and 213 career kickoff return yards.
In 2007, Hillis played 13 games (9 starts) for the Razorbacks and led his team in receptions (49) and receiving yards (537). He blocked for two individual 1,000-yard rushers (McFadden and Felix Jones) for the second consecutive season and totaled 886 all-purpose yards.

A SuperPrep All-American who was rated by that publication as the best fullback in the nation at Conway High School in Conway, Ark., Hillis was born on Jan. 21, 1986.
With Hillis' signing, the Broncos have signed five of their nine selections from the 2008 NFL Draft.

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Will he make the roster? What's your guess?

I wanted to go on record, once again, as saying that Hillis will make the roster. I can’t recall a single previous instance where I’ve been this confident about a #7b pick’s chances, but Hillis has a skill set that fits with some objectives the Broncos need to pursue, besides the fact that he was drafted a few rounds later than he ordinarily might have gone.

FBs aren’t in demand nowadays, just look at how many were drafted and when they went in the draft. Hillis isn’t your prototypical FB, however, although he’ll be able to handle the tasks that are expected from the FB position. His abilities make him valuable as a blocker for Cutler, and his ability as a receiver make him a perfect safety valve option in the previously weak short passing game. He also looks like a solid addition to many of ST positions. And his versatility, which is a by-product of having played so many different positions in college, should allow the Broncos to use him in many surprising and novel ways.

My main concern is the short passing game, so I’m excited about the possibility of a back who can actually catch the ball. Shanahan is fond of saying how much he likes backs that can catch the ball, but he’s never been big at backing up his talk (I assume it’s because other attributes won out in the roster decision). The fit between their roster needs and Hillis’ skills is just too good. I would be extremely surprised if we don’t see him on the 53 man roster.

BTW—next Thursday, July 24, is the first day of camp. The 53 man roster cutdown is some 5 weeks and two days later, on Saturday, Aug. 30, 2008.

by Colinski on Jul 16, 2008 4:41 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

I, too. love the hands

Traditionally there are a couple of FB pass plays routinely used in the Broncos offense. With confidence in the FB’s ability, the wrinkles you can add are tremendous. Perhaps we are looking at our trues 3rd down back! :-)

Yes, I think he makes the roster.

by jonahsilas on Jul 16, 2008 6:01 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Denver runs a great FB screen near the goal line.

"Greater is an army of sheep led by a lion, than an army of lions led by a sheep" Defoe

by Steve Nichols on Jul 18, 2008 12:38 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yup!

He’ll make the team. I posted some longer comments in sirsam’s FanPost, but suffice to say I was as excited about Hillis as I was any of our draft picks, particularly getting him that low.

by jaffe28 on Jul 16, 2008 5:15 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

he has so much upside value ,

he will make the team. also he played TE in college – so he could back up that position also. imagine- Marshall , Colbert , Stokely , Scheff and Hillis in a two TE set—what a arsenal of weapons to chose from—I like it .

by okiebroncosfan on Jul 16, 2008 5:28 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Another one locked up.

I don’t know much about him, however we do need a solid FB to help our offense get better. We have needed one like Griffith for some time and hopefully he will be the key.

by weazel on Jul 16, 2008 6:10 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

HT, if you read this...

Supposing you know anything about this Hillis guy… Do you think he would work well in that 3TE set that the NFL will be slowly transitioning to soon? If the transition is soon enough, I’d love to see him, Scheffler and Graham all in at once. Two great pairs of hands (from what I hear about Hillis, anyway) and an average set, with all-around great blocking ability.

"I could never quite get the hang of Thursdays..."

by FlaBroncoFan on Jul 16, 2008 11:00 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

I can't answer the 3TE part specifically

but I can say that Hillis is fast for a fullback. Expect him to be running in the neighborhood of 4.7-4.8 in pads and factor in that he simply doesn’t have a second gear, and you are talking about a guy who, as a versatile, ‘tweener’ type of FB, has the hands, body control, and power to be a critical cog in a wider scheme than perhaps 3TE can accomodate.

In short, I don’t think he shares the height (and thus wingspan) or speed characteristics of a TE. He does however create mismatches when he is put in motion from the FB spot, or runs routes from a TE spot. Whether those mismatches warrant inclusion as a “3rd TE” HT will have to answer, but I am guessing that he possesses much more value as a FB.

An interesting twist to throw in here, in favor of your 3TE thought, is that as a blocker, Hillis isn’t really the type of back who powers open running lanes, though he could develop into that with time. His resume features superior edge blocking (excellent choice for 3rd downs, can block or come out of the backfield as an option), and second level chip blocking, though in Denver’s scheme I seriously doubt that he could get to the second level before the RBs could. That is more for a power style game. One thing I would like to see from training camp practices was how well he read the lanes when blocking for a TB, and how much he seeemed to be used in that role. I will just have to wait for preseason…

Mountains, forest, sea: these render man fierce, but yet do not destroy the man.

by Jeremy Bolander on Jul 17, 2008 12:00 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Good stuff

I don’t know if the transition away from FBs to TEs is going to be very soon, but it is certainly in progress. Would Hillis work as a TE?

I read Styg’s reply below, and I think he’s nailed down the issues that should be looked at in answering the question. I concur with Styg that Hillis is much more valuable as a FB, at least to Denver. The only point I might differ on (and Styg knows more about personnel than I do) is whether Hillis could reach the second level in our scheme before the runner. Given Hillis’ speed (for a FB), and the idea that our runners start to the edge before cutting back, I think Hillis might do ok reaching the second level in our scheme. I’m not even sure on that, and Styg might have more insight on this than I. Bit for all of the other reasons Styg points out, I agree that Hillis is not a great choice at TE. The wing span alone (fighting for the ball in a seam, rather than a wide open area in a screen) makes me wary of moving him to TE.

"Greater is an army of sheep led by a lion, than an army of lions led by a sheep" Defoe

by Steve Nichols on Jul 18, 2008 12:46 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Oops.

I read Styg’s reply above... (not “below”).

"Greater is an army of sheep led by a lion, than an army of lions led by a sheep" Defoe

by Steve Nichols on Jul 18, 2008 12:47 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

I have reconsidered

my comments on him reaching the second level. Transposing him into a cutback system throws me a little, and we will all see soon enough, but I agree with you, if anyone can successfully block for a TB in our system, it is Hillis.

I definitely expect to see him getting into the second level on some of the wider plays that Selvin Typically ran last year. Hillis seals the outside exceptionally well, and if he doesn’t have anybody to block in the first 4-5 yards out of the backfield than he will still be good to go, unlike a lot of the bigger, bulkier FBs who start to look lost when they turn upfield on the outside.

That reminds me of another asset that Hillis possesses: he has the body lean and hip swivel of a WR (well, pretty darn close anyways). It is one of the things that make him an excellent pass catcher (he presents well to his QB) and why he is so successful with second level blocking, since he can actually get his head around and SEE what is going on. Good stuff.

Mountains, forest, sea: these render man fierce, but yet do not destroy the man.

by Jeremy Bolander on Jul 18, 2008 3:22 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs