Giants’ 90-man roster: RB Jon Hilliman trying to earn a spot

The New York Giants have Saquon Barkley at running back, and he is going to get the overwhelming majority of touches from anyone at that position. They have veterans Wayne Gallman, Rod Smith and Paul Perkins competing to pick up the scraps. Then, there is Jon Hilliman an undrafted, under-the-radar “who’s that?” player trying to prove he belongs in the NFL.

Let’s take a closer look at Hilliman as we continue profiling the 90-man roster the Giants will bring to training camp this summer.

The basics

Height: 5-foot-11
Weight: 216
Age: 23
Position: Running back
Experience: 0

How he got here

Hilliman spent four seasons at Boston College and played at Rutgers last season as a graduate transfer. He ended up with 696 collegiate carries for 2,575 yards, 3.7 yards per carry. His best season was 2014 when, as a freshman at Boston College he gained 860 yards on 211 carries (4.1 yards per carry). For Rutgers in 2018, Hilliman carried only 83 times for 337 yards (4.1 per carry).

2019 outlook

Hilliman is interesting. His best season was five years ago (2014). He got less than 100 carries as a part-time player for Rutgers last season. He caught only 40 passes in his collegiate career.

Yet, he ran a 4.44 40-yard dash and put up other exceptional numbers at the Rutgers Pro Day. Athletically, he looks like he belongs.

Can he unseat any of the veterans in front of him? Perhaps a practice squad spot is the likely outcome for Hilliman.