RADIO
Right off the bat we have a struggling running back that I’ve been talking up since June. It pains me to say it, but I’m already vastly disappointed by his usage thus far. Luckily, a lot of Hill’s struggles seem to be tied to just that--usage. It’s been made clear that the Bengals prefer Giovani Bernard when playing from behind, which can be viewed as both a blessing and a curse.
The positive takeaway is that this should mean that the Bengals would prefer to utilize a more ground-based attack centered around Hill, and as long as their defense is able to keep them in the game, he’s their guy. On the other hand, should the offense struggle to run the ball or the team fall into a hole, Bernard will come in as the pass-catching back. That greatly hinders Hill’s PPR value, but it doesn’t mean you should fully panic.
Just take a look around at some of the other highly-drafted running backs thus far, like Marshawn Lynch, C.J. Anderson, DeMarco Murray, and LeSean McCoy; it’s been a brutal year at the position in general. Hell, take a step further down the list with guys like Frank Gore and Alfred Morris not living up to their draft day value and relatively speaking it could be a lot worse for Hill. Personally, I’m not fully panicked yet considering the fact that we still know exactly what his role is in an ideal game. I’m very much on board with trying to buy low on him if you can.
