Bengals RB Hill looks to follow up successful first year in Cincinnati

Bengals RB Jeremy Hill looks to follow up successful first-year in Cincinnati
Bengals RB Hill looks to follow up successful first year in Cincinnati
Bengals RB Hill looks to follow up successful first year in Cincinnati /

CINCINNATI -- A word from Bengals training camp to all you fantasy football fans as draft day looms. The man who led the NFL in rushing over the course of the final nine weeks of the 2014 season -- by triple digits, no less -- has some advice when it comes to picking a lead horse in your stable of running backs: 

“I think I’d pick me,’’ said second-year Bengals rusher Jeremy Hill, moments after a Friday evening practice wraps at Cincinnati’s camp, just across the street from Paul Brown Stadium. “I wouldn’t be a bad choice, so don’t forget about me.’’

Ranking NFL's top 10 running backs heading into 2015 season

Hill doesn’t play fantasy football, but he said he might have to “check it out and see what the hype’s about’’ this season, because “it’s the main topic (of conversation) every time I walk in somewhere anyway.’’ People want to know if he can reproduce his emergence over the second half of his rookie season, when his 929 yards gained in Weeks 9-17 104 yards more than the league’s next most productive rusher, Seattle’s Marshawn Lynch with 824?

Alas, Hill’s former collegiate teammate, Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr., was not the only ex-LSU star to burst onto the NFL scene in the latter stages of 2014. Beckham’s breath-taking rookie season was certainly more spectacular, but the Bengals rode on Hill’s broad back to a fourth consecutive playoff trip last year, with Cincinnati’s ground game ranking second in the league over the season’s final nine weeks, trailing only Super Bowl-bound Seattle during that span.

• The MMQB training camp tour: Follow along as we check in on every team

Once Hill started running downhill, taking over the lead back role in place of the injured Giovanni Bernard in Week 9, the Bengals took off, winning six of their final nine games, with Hill cranking out five different 100-yard rushing games, with four efforts of at least 147 yards. His total of 1,124 yards ranked eighth overall in the NFL, and his 5.1-yard average was fifth-best in the league. Hill was a second-round pick in 2014, but wound up exhibiting clear-cut No. 1 back production and potential.

“During the season, when you’re winning games, you’re losing games, it’s just a rollercoaster mentally and emotionally,’’ Hill said. “You don’t really get to sit back and get a sense of your accomplishments until the offseason, soaking it all in. But last year definitely built my confidence to where it is now. Now when I get out there, I’m expected to do certain things, and obviously that wasn’t the case last year.’’

What last year did was convince the Bengals they have a potent 1-2 backfield punch in Hill and Bernard, but the 6-1, 235-pound Hill is again expected to carry the load for a veteran Cincinnati team that is built to win now, and who had as status quo of an offseason as any club in the NFL.

“He’s a guy that’s built to last,’’ said Bengals left offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth of Hill, his fellow ex-LSU standout. “Being as big and athletic as he is, I knew his talent would translate well to the NFL game. He’s a big, thick back who also knows how to play with agility as well. He can avoid hits when needed and play physically when needed. Those kind of backs are going to make it in this league, because it’s hard to both stop a guy who runs with power, and chase him athletically, too. When he got hot last year, he just started to feel it. He got in that groove and got confidence every time he touched the ball.’’

Hill admits biding his time in a backup role was challenging for him in the season’s first seven games -- he averaged just 28 yards rushing per game in that span -- but his 103.2-yard average from November on proved he was ready for the step up to NFL-level competition.

• BANKS: What I hope to learn on my 2015 NFL training camp tour

“In the beginning of the year I wasn’t getting the amount of touches I would have liked, and it was hard, but I didn’t want to voice my frustrations because it’s team first and the rest is what it is,’’ Hill said. “But when I got my opportunity, I wanted to make the most of it. I think playing in the SEC helped me out a lot and got me prepared, because the jump wasn’t as big physically as it was mentally. The biggest thing is handling the grind, the week in and week out competition level.’’

Cover Two: Making the case for six 2016 Hall of Fame candidates

The NFL, of course, has seen reams of break-out rookie rushers fail to live up to those first-year standards in subsequent seasons, and if Hill’s stout 5.1 average rush drops this year, don’t be too surprised. Rookie backs of recent vintage like Adrian Peterson, Maurice Jones-Drew, DeMarco Murray, Ben Tate, Ryan Grant and LeGarrette Blount have all seen their 5.0-plus averages drop in year two, sometimes significantly. Hill will be running this season with a much larger target on his back, even if he does still feel a little bit off the radar in small-market Cincinnati.

“I haven’t really accomplished much. I’m just a second-year guy,’’ Hill said. “I like being the same guy I’ve always been. I kind of like being low key, and being the guy people are kind of doubting, or don’t expect much from. That kind of fires me up. I love it. Hopefully, if I do the things my coaches want me to do, and my teammates expect me to do, I can go out there and get it done. Hopefully then I can take the league by storm.’’

Kind of like how Beckham Jr. did over the latter two-thirds last season in New York, and interestingly enough, the week ahead will provide the perfect opportunity to see the two second-year playmakers side by side. The Giants visit Bengals camp for joint workouts on Tuesday and Wednesday, in advance of the New York-Cincinnati preseason opener on Friday. That tandem posted almost 2,700 yards of rookie-season production -- Beckham Jr. had 1,340 yards of receiving and rushing, with Hill a step behind at 1,339 -- and that’s going to keep the spotlight on them in 2015.

Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis lauds the job Hill has done at maintaining his focus as year two arrives, saying he has no concerns that early success will damage or delay Hill’s development in the league.

“As a player, he was what we expected last year,’’ Lewis said. “He can catch, he can run, and do all those things. But the biggest thing he did to exceed expectations was as a person and a teammate. The maturity, the humbleness, the work ethic were all there. He gets it. He’s hungry and his motivation level has not changed. And then put him with Gio, who’s had zero diva moments in his two years here, and we don’t have that problem with these two guys.’’

• ​​SI STAFF: The most hated people, places and things in the NFL

Lewis said Hill has worked to change his body this offseason, learning how to eat better, and take care of himself in preparation for the long season ahead. Hill’s model was Pittsburgh third-year running back Le’Veon Bell, who followed up his strong debut season of 2013 (1,259 total yards) with a monstrously better showing in 2014 (2,215), becoming one of the league’s premier backs and the gold standard for production in the AFC North.

“He watched what (Bell) did in Pittsburgh after his rookie year, and everybody’s been able to point him to that and say, ‘Look, this is what you have an opportunity to do. Now that you’re in the NFL, learn how to live, learn how to take care of yourself.’ That first year, players spend all their time training for the draft, and they don’t really get a chance to train for football much.’’

Audibles Podcast: NFL's best backfield tandems, worst QB situations

The Bengals, after four consecutive one-and-done playoff trips the past four seasons, are clearly in no-excuses, win-now mode, with a roster chock-full of potential free agents in 2016. Many have labeled this Lewis’s most talented team yet in his long Cincinnati tenure, and the urgency to finally make a deep playoff run has never been higher. Could it be that Hill’s second season as the main cog in the Bengals running game winds up being the key to how far Cincinnati can go, rather than the over-analyzed and oft-dissected game of fifth-year quarterback Andy Dalton? Can the Bengals ride their defense and running game to playoff success? Hill will be the focus if Cincinnati opts for that ground-first approach.

“I think everyone knows the urgency level, and obviously the playoff thing is always going to be the elephant in the room,’’ Hill said. “But we’ve just got to come out here and do what we do every day, and learn how to finish. We’ve got to just do the little things, because I think that’s what has been kind of biting us in the butt. The little things, and taking care of the football. If we can just fix that, this team can get the job done.’’

In the big-picture sense, the job remains very much undone for these Bengals. But if Hill can pick up where he left off in 2014, keeping fantasy owners happy in the process, there’s always the hope that the story is about to change in Cincinnati.

GALLERY: Snapshots from NFL training camps

Snapshots from NFL Training Camps

Justin Forsett and Joe Flacco

Baltimore-Ravens-Justin-Forsett-Joe-Flacco.jpg
Patrick Semansky/AP

Baltimore Ravens

Russell Wilson

Russell-Wilson_1.jpg
Stephen Brashear/AP

Seattle Seahawks

Tom Brady

tom-brady_10.jpg
Michael Dwyer/AP

New England Patriots

Ron Brooks and Caleb Holey

Ron-Brooks_0.jpg
Bill Wippert/AP

Buffalo Bills.

Peyton Manning

Peyton-Manning_1.jpg
David Zalubowski/AP

Denver Broncos

Seth Lobato, Jameis Winston and Mike Glennon

Seth-Lobato.jpg
Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Marshawn Lynch

Marshawn-Lynch_1.jpg
Elaine Thompson/AP

Seattle Seahawks

J.J. Nelson

J.J.-Nelson.jpg
Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Arizona Cardinals

DeMarco Murray

DeMarco-Murray_1.jpg
Matt Rourke/AP

Philadelphia Eagles

ILB coach Jen Welter

Arizona-Cardinals-Jen-Welter.jpg
Matt York/AP

Arizona Cardinals

Julio Jones

Atlanta-Falcons-Julio-Jones-Brian-Cearns.jpg
John Bazemore/AP

Atlanta Falcons

Vic Beasley

Atlanta-Falcons-Vic-Beasley.jpg
John Bazemore/AP

Atlanta Falcons

Head coach Dan Quinn and Jonathan Babineaux

Atlanta-Falcons-Dan-Quinn-Jonathan-Babineaux.jpg
John Bazemore/AP

Atlanta Falcons

Terrell Suggs

Baltimore-Ravens-Terrell-Suggs.jpg
Patrick Semansky/AP

Baltimore Ravens

John Harbaugh and Joe Flacco

Baltimore-Ravens-John-Harbaugh-Joe-Flacco.jpg
Patrick Semansky/AP

Baltimore Ravens

Steve Smith Sr.

Baltimore-Ravens-Steve-Smith-Sr.jpg
Gail Burton/AP

Baltimore Ravens

LeSean McCoy

Buffalo-Bills-LeSean-McCoy.jpg
Bill Wippert/AP

Buffalo Bills

GM Doug Whaley and head coach Rex Ryan

Buffalo-Bills-Doug-Whaley-Rex-Ryan.jpg
Bill Wippert/AP

Buffalo Bills

Matt Cassel, EJ Manuel and Tyrod Taylor

Buffalo-Bills-Matt-Cassel-EJ-Manuel-Tyrod-Taylor.jpg
Bill Wippert/AP

Buffalo Bills

Charles Clay

Buffalo-Bills-Charles-Clay.jpg
Bill Wippert/AP

Buffalo Bills

Fozzy Whittaker and Mike Tolbert

Carolina-Panthers-Fozzy-Whittaker-Mike-Tolbert.jpg
Chuck Burton/AP

Carolina Panthers

Cam Newton

Carolina-Panthers-Cam-Newton_0.jpg
Chuck Burton/AP

Carolina Panthers

Tim Jennings

Chicago-Bears-Tim-Jennings-television.jpg
Nam Huh/AP

Chicago Bears

Jared Allen

Chicago-Bears-Jared-Allen.jpg
Nam Huh/AP

Chicago Bears

Jay Cutler

Chicago-Bears-Jay-Cutler.jpg
Nam Huh/AP

Chicago Bears

Matt Forte

Chicago-Bears-Matt-Forte.jpg
Nam Huh/AP

Chicago Bears

David Fales and Kevin White

Chicago-Bears-Kevin-White-David-Fales.jpg
Nam Huh/AP

Chicago Bears

Johnny Manziel and Malcolm Johnson

Cleveland-Browns-Johnny-Manziel-Malcolm-Johnson.jpg
Tony Dejak/AP

Cleveland Browns

Dwayne Bowe

Cleveland-Browns-Dwayne-Bowe.jpg
Tony Dejak/AP

Cleveland Browns

Joe Haden

Cleveland-Browns-Joe-Haden.jpg
Tony Dejak/AP

Cleveland Browns

Craig Robertson and daughter Lexi

Cleveland-Browns-Craig-Robertson-daughter-Lexi.jpg
Tony Dejak/AP

Cleveland Browns

Johnny Manziel

Cleveland-Browns-Johnny-Manziel-fan.jpg
Tony Dejak/AP

Cleveland Browns

Morris Claiborne and Dez Bryant

Dallas-Cowboys-Dez-Bryant-Morris-Claiborne.jpg
Gus Ruelas/AP

Dallas Cowboys

Tony Romo

Dallas-Cowboys-Tony-Romo.jpg
Gus Ruelas/AP

Dallas Cowboys

Dez Bryant

Dallas-Cowboys-Dez-Bryant-media.jpg
Gus Ruelas/AP

Dallas Cowboys

Jerry Jones

Dallas-Cowboys-Jerry-Jones.jpg
Gus Ruelas/AP

Dallas Cowboys

Peyton Manning

Denver-Broncos-Peyton-Manning_0.jpg
David Zalubowski/AP

Denver Broncos

Demaryius Thomas

Denver-Broncos-Demaryius-Thomas.jpg
David Zalubowski/AP

Denver Broncos

DeMarcus Ware and Antonio Smith

Denver-Broncos-Antonio-Smith-DeMarcus-Ware.jpg
David Zalubowski/AP

Denver Broncos

Eddie Lacy

Green-Bay-Packers-Eddie-Lacy.jpg
Morry Gash/AP

Green Bay Packers

Jordy Nelson

Green-Bay-Packers-Jordy-Nelson.jpg
Morry Gash/AP

Green Bay Packers

Clay Matthews and Andy Mulumba

Green-Bay-Packers-Clay-Matthews-Andy-Mulumba.jpg
Morry Gash/AP

Green Bay Packers

Aaron Rodgers

Green-Bay-Packers-Aaron-Rodgers_0.jpg
Morry Gash/AP

Green Bay Packers

Blake Bortles

Jacksonville-Jaguars-Blake-Bortles.jpg
John Raoux/AP

Jacksonville Jaguars

Luke Joeckel and Marcedes Lewis

Jacksonville-Jaguars-Luke-Joeckel-Marcedes-Lewis.jpg
John Raoux/AP

Jacksonville Jaguars

Michael Bennett

Jacksonville-Jaguars-Michael-Bennett.jpg
John Raoux/AP

Jacksonville Jaguars

Alex Smith

Kansas-City-Chiefs-Alex-Smith.jpg
Charlie Riedel/AP

Kansas City Chiefs

Andy Reid

Kansas-City-Chiefs-Andy-Reid.jpg
Charlie Riedel/AP

Kansas City Chiefs

Eric Berry

Kansas-City-Chiefs-Eric-Berry.jpg
Charlie Riedel/AP

Kansas City Chiefs

Marcus Peters and Chris Conley

Kansas-City-Chiefs-Marcus-Peters-Chris-Conley.jpg
Charlie Riedel/AP

Kansas City Chiefs

Ndamukong Suh

Miami-Dolphins-Ndamukong-Suh.jpg
Wilfredo Lee/AP

Miami Dolphins

Greg Jennings and Jamar Taylor

Miami-Dolphins-Jamar-Taylor-Greg-Jennings.jpg
Wilfredo Lee/AP

Miami Dolphins

Olivier Vernon and Cameron Wake

Miami-Dolphins-Olivier-Vernon-Cameron-Wake.jpg
Wilfredo Lee/AP

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota-Vikings-Adrian-Peterson-Teddy-Bridgewater.jpg
Charles Rex Arbogast/AP

Minnesota Vikings

Kyle Rudolph

Minnesota-Vikings-Kyle-Rudolph.jpg
Charles Rex Arbogast/AP

Minnesota Vikings

Mike Wallace and Cordarrelle Patterson

Minnesota-Vikings-Mike-Wallace-Cordarrelle-Patterson.jpg
Charles Rex Arbogast/AP

Minnesota Vikings

Audie Cole and Chad Greenway

Minnesota-Vikings-Audie-Cole-Chad-Greenway.jpg
Charles Rex Arbogast/AP

Minnesota Vikings

Charles Johnson and wife Kalyn, one-year old Hayzel and three year-old Hayleigh

Minnesota-Vikings-Charles-Johnson-family.jpg
Charles Rex Arbogast/AP

Minnesota Vikings

Adrian Peterson and Teddy Bridgewater

Minnesota-Vikings-Adrian-Peterson.jpg
Charles Rex Arbogast/AP

Minnesota Vikings

Trae Waynes

Minnesota-Vikings-Trae-Waynes-fans.jpg
Charles Rex Arbogast/AP

Minnesota Vikings

Fans

New-England-Patriots-Tom-Brady-fans.jpg
Charles Krupa/AP

New England Patriots

Tom Brady and Jimmy Garoppolo

New-England-Patriots-Tom-Brady-Jimmy-Garoppolo.jpg
Charles Krupa/AP

New England Patriots

Tom Brady

New-England-Patriots-Tom-Brady.jpg
Charles Krupa/AP

New England Patriots

Bill Belichick

New-England-Patriots-Bill-Belichick.jpg
Charles Krupa/AP

New England Patriots

Julian Edelman

New-England-Patriots-Julian-Edelman.jpg
Charles Krupa/AP

New England Patriots

Geno Smith and Ryan Fitzpatrick

New-York-Jets-Geno-Smith-Ryan-Fitzpatrick.jpg
Frank Franklin II/AP

New York Jets

Brandon Marshall

New-York-Jets-Brandon-Marshall.jpg
Frank Franklin II/AP

New York Jets

Leonard Williams

New-York-Jets-Leonard-Williams.jpg
Frank Franklin II/AP

New York Jets

Antonio Brown

Pittsburgh-Steelers-Antonio-Brown-Rolls-Royce.jpg
Keith Srakocic/AP

Pittsburgh Steelers

Antonio Brown

Pittsburgh-Steelers-Antonio-Brown.jpg
Keith Srakocic/AP

Pittsburgh Steelers

Ben Roethlisberger

Pittsburgh-Steelers-Ben-Roethlisberger_0.jpg
Keith Srakocic/AP

Pittsburgh Steelers

Le'Veon Bell

Pittsburgh-Steelers-Le'Veon-Bell.jpg
Keith Srakocic/AP

Pittsburgh Steelers

Head coach Mike Tomlin

Pittsburgh-Steelers-Mike-Tomlin.jpg
Keith Srakocic/AP

Pittsburgh Steelers

Antonio Gates

San-Diego-Chargers-Antonio-Gates.jpg
Lenny Ignelzi/AP

San Diego Chargers

Keenan Allen

San-Diego-Chargers-Keenan-Allen.jpg
Lenny Ignelzi/AP

San Diego Chargers

Philip Rivers

San-Diego-Chargers-Philip-Rivers.jpg
Lenny Ignelzi/AP

San Diego Chargers

Brian Orakpo and Marcus Mariota

Tennessee-Titans-Brian-Orakpo-Marcus-Mariota.jpg
Mark Humphrey/AP

Tennessee Titans

Jason McCourty and Michael Griffin

Tennessee-Titans-Jason-McCourty-Michael-Griffin.jpg
Mark Humphrey/AP

Tennessee Titans

Justin Hunter

Tennessee-Titans-Justin-Hunter.jpg
Mark Humphrey/AP

Tennessee Titans

Fans

Washington-Redskins-fans.jpg
Jason Hirschfeld/AP

Washington Redskins

Jay Gruden and Robert Griffin III

Washington-Redskins-Jay-Gruden-Robert-Griffin-III.jpg
Jason Hirschfeld/AP

Washington Redskins

Robert Griffin III

Washington-Redskins-Robert-Griffin-III_1.jpg
Jason Hirschfeld/AP

Washington Redskins

Ryan Kerrigan

Washington-Redskins-Ryan-Kerrigan.jpg
Jason Hirschfeld/AP

Washington Redskins


Published
Don Banks
DON BANKS

Senior NFL writer Don Banks joined SI in 2000 after 10 years on the beat covering the Vikings and Buccaneers. His Snap Judgments cap off every Sunday of every NFL season.