B. J. Hill (American football)

B. J. Hill
refer to caption
Hill with the Giants in 2020
No. 92 – Cincinnati Bengals
Position: Defensive tackle
Personal information
Born: April 20, 1995
Oakboro, North Carolina, U.S.
Height: 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight: 311 lb (141 kg)
Career information
High school: West Stanly (Oakboro)
College: NC State (2014–2017)
NFL Draft: 2018 / Round: 3 / Pick: 69
Career history
Roster status: Active
Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2023
Tackles: 281
Sacks: 20.0
Forced fumbles: 1
Fumble recoveries: 4
Pass deflections: 12
Interceptions: 2
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Bobby Gene Hill Jr. (born April 20, 1995) is an American football defensive tackle for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at NC State and was drafted by the New York Giants in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft.

Early years

Along with football, Hill participated in track and field, baseball, and basketball at West Stanly High School. He was listed as a three-star recruit by 247Sports.com and committed to NC State on June 12, 2013, to play football, over offers from East Carolina and North Carolina

College career

Hill attended and played college football at NC State from 2014 to 2017.

Collegiate statistics

Year School Conf Class Pos G Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
Solo Ast Tot Loss Sk Int Yds Avg TD PD FR Yds TD FF
2014 North Carolina State ACC FR DT 11 19 20 39 6.5 1.5 1 0 0.0 0 1 0 0
2015 North Carolina State ACC SO DT 12 23 27 50 11.0 3.5 0 0 0 3 0 0
2016 North Carolina State ACC JR DT 12 16 23 39 2.5 1.0 0 0 0 2 2 1
2017 North Carolina State ACC SR DT 13 18 37 55 3.5 2.0 0 0 0 3 0 1
Career North Carolina State 76 107 183 23.5 8.0 1 0 0.0 0 9 2 2

Professional career

Pre-draft

On December 4, 2017, it was announced that Hill had accepted his invitation to play in the 2018 Senior Bowl. Hill was dominant during Senior Bowl practices and impressed scouts and team representatives. On January 27, 2018, Hill played in the 2018 Reese's Senior Bowl and was part of Denver Broncos' head coach Vance Joseph's North team that lost to the South 45–16. He attended the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis and completed all of the combine and positional drills. Hill's overall performance helped raise his draft stock, as he finished third among all defensive linemen in the bench press, fifth in the three-cone drill, tied for 11th in the 20-yard shuttle, and finished 15th among his position group in the 40-yard dash. On March 19, 2018, Hill participated at NC State's pro day, but opted to stand on his combine numbers and only performed positional drills. Hill also attended a pre-draft visits with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Carolina Panthers. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Hill was projected to be a second or third round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked as the fifth best defensive tackle prospect in the draft by Scouts Inc. and was ranked the seventh best defensive tackle by DraftScout.com.

External videos
video icon B.J. Hill's NFL Combine Workout
video icon B.J. Hill's NC State Pro Day Interview
video icon 2018 NFL Draft Profile: B.J. Hill
Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 3+14 in
(1.91 m)
311 lb
(141 kg)
33 in
(0.84 m)
10+58 in
(0.27 m)
4.99 s 1.73 s 2.88 s 4.53 s 7.28 s 26+12 in
(0.67 m)
8 ft 5 in
(2.57 m)
35 reps
All values from NFL Combine

New York Giants

The New York Giants selected Hill in the third round with the 69th overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. Hill was the fifth defensive tackle drafted in 2018. The pick used to select Hill was acquired from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in exchange for Jason Pierre-Paul. On June 7, 2018, the Giants signed Hill to a four-year, $4.04 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $1.02 million. In Week 3, against the Houston Texans, he recorded his first career sack. In the next game, a loss to the New Orleans Saints, he recorded his second sack of the season.

External videos
video icon New York Giants draft B.J. Hill 69th overall
Hill in a game against the Washington Redskins

Hill's statistics dropped in the 2019 season, only recording 36 tackles and one sack.

Hill recorded his first sack of the 2020 season on Mitchell Trubisky in a game against the Chicago Bears in Week 2.

Hill in a game against the Washington Redskins

Cincinnati Bengals

On August 30, 2021, Hill was traded to the Cincinnati Bengals for center Billy Price. In the AFC Championship against the Kansas City Chiefs, he intercepted Patrick Mahomes when the Bengals were down 13–21 with 2:18 remaining in the third quarter, leading to the game-tying touchdown in the eventual 27–24 overtime victory.

On March 15, 2022, Hill signed a three-year, $30 million contract extension with the Bengals.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck Int Yds Avg Lng TD PD FF FR Yds TD
2018 NYG 16 12 48 32 16 5.5 0 0 0.0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0
2019 NYG 16 5 36 15 21 1.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2020 NYG 16 0 32 15 17 1.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
2021 CIN 16 2 50 29 21 5.5 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2022 CIN 16 16 68 30 38 3.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 4 1 3 0 0
2023 CIN 14 14 36 19 17 4.0 2 0 0.0 0 0 5 0 1 0 0
Career 94 49 270 140 130 20.0 2 0 0.0 0 0 12 1 4 0 0

Postseason

Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck Int Yds Avg Lng TD PD FF FR Yds TD
2021 CIN 4 3 13 6 7 1.5 1 3 3.0 3 0 1 0 0 0 0
2022 CIN 3 3 9 4 5 1.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0
Career 7 6 22 10 12 2.5 1 3 1.5 3 0 3 0 0 0 0