Giants’ 90-man roster: Giants hoping B.J. Hill continues to grow as a pass rusher

The New York Giants are counting on a young, versatile group of linemen to anchor their 3-4 defense in 2019. Second-year man B.J. Hill is a key member of that group. Let’s take a closer look at Hill as we continue our player-by-player look at the 90-man roster the Giants will bring to training camp.

The basics

Height: 6-foot-3
Weight: 311
Age: 24
Position: Defensive line
Experience: 1

How he got here

Hill was taken by the Giants in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft, arriving out of N.C. State as a collegiate nose tackle who had only eight career sacks in four years and was considered “a marginal pass rusher.”

Hill ended up not playing the nose, or shade, for the Giants. Rather, he was a defensive end in the Giants’ base 3-4 and a tackle when they aligned in a 4-3 set. He finished the season with a surprising 5.5 sacks, three of which came in one game against the Chicago Bears. Per Pro Football Focus, Hill had 27 pressures in 356 pass rushing snaps. Hill’s PFF pass rush productivity rating of 5.1 was 22nd among 46 qualifying interior defensive linemen. Hill finished 44th out of 134 qualifying defensive linemen with a 7.9 run stop percentage.

2019 outlook

Hill is entrenched as a starter in the Giants’ base 3-4 front. He will give the Giants run defense, athleticism and the versatility they seek to line up in various spots along their front. What remains to be seen is whether he can give them pass rush, or if the three-sack game last season was an outlier.