Using the last pick in a seasonal league draft on a kicker or a defense is so late-2000s. Even if your league hasn’t already done away with either position, there’s no excuse for not taking a flier on a high-upside skill position player with your final pick. Unless the league starts multiple kickers and/or defenses, usable players will always be available to pick up and play. It’s much harder to pinpoint, and subsequently acquire, usable players at running back, wide receiver or tight end once the season begins. As anyone who ended up with James Conner last year can attest to, picking the right skill position player at or near the end of a draft can make a league-winning difference.
Why Dontrell Hilliard?
Duke Johnson’s departure from Cleveland opens up a massive early-season opportunity in the Browns backfield. Second year back Dontrell Hilliard looks to be the player best suited to take advantage of the vacated work and Kareem Hunt’s 8-game suspension. It’s no coincidence that Hilliard was the one who soaked up the extra reps in OTAs with Johnson skipping out. The undrafted free agent from Tulane began to see more on-field action once Freddie Kitchens took over play calling duties in Week 9 of last season. He made enough noise during training camp to lead to speculation that he could make Johnson expendable — which turned out to be correct. Given speculation that Hunt could be traded before ever seeing the field, Hilliard may end up as more than an early-season depth play.
Profile 2 Runner
Hilliard most closely fits the bill of what Shawn Siegele, the godfather of Zero RB, calls a “Profile 2” runner. These are players in the 200 to 220-pound range, with above-average, weight-adjusted speed and agility, that fall into the Jamaal Charles/Matt Forte/LeSean McCoy basket of upside comps. Hilliard combines 66th-percentile agility (per Player Profiler) with well-above average pass catching acumen, evidenced by two college seasons with 20-plus receptions. He translated this ability to the pro level in his 11 rookie year appearances, catching nine of 10 targets for 105 yards.
Where’s the love?
Many fantasy gamers are scrambling to figure out who to pick up as holdout insurance for Melvin Gordon and/or Ezekiel Elliott. Yet the player who enters 2019 with the best chance of being Nick Chubb’s direct backup is being ignored. With Chubb being an unknown as an NFL-level pass-catcher, it’s a role that will produce fantasy-usable weeks in this Cleveland offense. Hilliard’s only competition for this early-season playing time, barring a trade or free agent signing, is fellow second year UDFA D’Ernest Johnson, a player who showed similar pass-catching chops at USF but failed to break 1,000 rushing yards in any of his four seasons, which Hilliard accomplished in his senior year. While neither player has recorded a carry in the NFL, Hilliard is the player to bet on breaking out from a fantasy perspective.
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsWhile everyone is focused on
— Derek Brown (@DBro_FFB) August 8, 2019
Duke Johnson….
Go Pickup Dontrell Hilliard.
Now the 3rd RB for the Browns. Has been getting positive buzz out of camp in both run & pass game.
Final Season at Tulane 1091 rush yds
30 & 23 rec during his frist two collegiate seasons. #Dynasty pic.twitter.com/xzwENlVqod
Usable fantasy production from any skill position player is hard to find in the final round of a draft. Hilliard’s general anonymity will ensure that he continues to fly under the radar despite being in an ideal fantasy situation. He’s as good a candidate as any to reach fantasy football zero-to-hero status in 2019.