Safety Delano Hill was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the 3rd round (#95 overall) of the 2017 NFL Draft.
I’m a little surprised that Hill went this high after not having an extremely productive career at Michigan, but I think the Seahawks are a good fit for him, because he’ll play strong safety in a defense that plays a lot of Cover 3. He’s also a solid tackler.
Also, I don’t hate the Seahawks, so at least I won’t have to swallow hatred in order to root for him, like I’ll have to do with the Browns and Cowboys.
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Him going this close to Lewis will surprise some M fans, but it really shouldn’t. Hill played deep safety, box safety and nickel corner at Michigan. He was all but interchangeable with Jabril Peppers. While not quite the same level athlete, he’s bigger, more experienced, and better in one-on-coverage.
Strange comment about “not extremely productive career”.
Hill’s been an underrated guy for a few years. The entire secondary (save Peppers and Lewis) has I think. The accolades weren’t there (thanks in part to OSU having a bunch of 1st rounders) but the defense’s performance was.
I think the Seahawks will be glad to have him.
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It’s not a strange comment. He wasn’t very productive in college. In four years, he made 119 tackles, 7 TFLs, 3 INTs, and 5 PBUs. If you look at the other safeties taken, they have him beaten in literally almost every category. I think he’s dead last in tackles, maybe second to last in TFLs, dead last in INTs and PBUs, etc. For a 3rd round safety to have 3 career picks and 5 career PBUs, it’s nothing noteworthy. Jordan Kovacs went undrafted and had 200 more tackles, 19 more TFLs, and 2 more INTs.
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It’s a strange comment because the NFL doesn’t draft on production. Did Taco have better stats than the guys he got drafted ahead of? Did Pep? etc.
It’s also a strange comment because DB’s production isn’t measured by counting stats. Hill’s ‘production’ is that he was a multi-year starter and critical contributor on elite defenses. Hill graded out as the #10 safety in the country by PFF. That’s his production. That’s better than Peppers.
It’s a strange comment because he was the 11th safety drafted, so if anything he got drafted lower than his production warranted (assuming you believe the PFF ranking).
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Taco Charlton had better stats than some, and he also wasn’t as far behind others as much as Hill. Peppers was more productive than most others when you take into account his offensive and special teams production. Considering the head coach already said they’ll give Peppers a shot on offense, that has to be a part of the consideration.
If you want to count “production” as PFF grades, that’s up to you. We’ve had this discussion before. When I say “production,” I’m not talking about his PFF grade or his UFR grade or how I feel about him. Like most people in the sports world, my version of “production” is the stats a player puts up. Therefore, Hill wasn’t very productive in college. It’s a pretty simple idea.
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I could dispute literally every thing you just said. But the most egregious statement is that production is measured simply by counting stats. Sports stats have evolved way beyond that for one.
Most fans are aware that there’s a lot more to quality play and that defensive play in particular can’t be evaluated with old-school counting stats. This isn’t a football only thing but applies to every sport and really beyond the world of sports.
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That’s fine, but that’s not what I’m talking about. You’re arguing a different topic. I’m talking about “production” as in stats.
If you want to argue about advanced stats, PFF grades, etc., that’s fine – I’m not arguing that. Have at it.
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is water wet? is grass green?
not sure it matters what youre talking about
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Not sure you have any basis for limiting production to counting stats. Baseball moved past that sort of argument a century ago.
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“He was all but interchangeable with Jabril Peppers.”
Wow!
i like Delano Hill a lot and touted him from the instant of his commitment but dear Lord, Lanky. You should just back away from the bong and allow your head to clear.
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I think this is valid. Thomas Hill and Peppers could all moved freely between the slot coverage, playing in the box, and safety duties. Obviously they all have their strengths, but their versatility was a huge benefit to Michigan.
Brown has said what they asked of Peppers was criminal. He wasn’t the only guy that was getting moved around.
Hill isn’t as explosive as Peppers but his combine measurables were on par. (e.g., 4.46 vs 4.47 40 times).
As I’ve said many times, Hill is dramatically underrated by Michigan fans and I think a lot of it has to do with the hype that Lewis and Peppers got. And they deserved said hype – it just doesn’t mean that the other players aren’t also excellent.
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To put it another way – there’s a pretty decent chance that Hill is a better NFL player than Peppers.
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I’m really looking forward to him being in Seattle as I’ll get to see him and Darboh live a couple times a year. I think he’s going to fit in well here.
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Though I would certainly not take Hill over Peppers if I was an NFL GM because Hill doesn’t have the same all-pro upside. Hill has a lower floor due to age, experience, and having a defined position and role in the NFL. Hill’s versatility is a bonus, Peppers’ is arguably his biggest selling point.
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