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By Charlie Campbell
Weaknesses:
Summary: In 2019 Georgia had a phenomenal offensive line that drew huge praise in the scouting community. Left tackle Andrew Thomas was the star of the group and future top-five pick. Right tackle Isaiah Wilson was a future first-rounder, and guard Solomon Kindley had mid-round potential for the 2020 NFL Draft. While scouts studied those players closely, center Trey Hill jumped out to scouts as well.
“In 2019, I thought Hill was going to be the top center in his draft class,” said one area scout. “He looked really talented, but as a junior his technique went bad and he got overweight. I ended grading him as a 3/4 (late third-round or early fourth-round pick).”
After starting the past two seasons for Georgia, Hill is a challenging evaluation for the NFL because teams don’t know which version they will be getting. In his final season Kindley got overweight and went from the early-rounds to the fourth round, but Kindley won a starting spot with the Dolphins as a rookie in training camp and had a good season for Miami looking like a mid-round steal. Hence, Hill is still an intriguing player based on what he did in 2019.
In pass protection as a sophomore, Hill was a center that can handle defensive tackles one-on-one. Many college centers are smaller as Hill has excellent size for the position where he can handle large tackles with enough quickness and athleticism to take on the speed. Hill has a thick lower body with a strong build that allows him to stifle bull rushes. While Hill can give up some ground, he gives his quarterback the necessary time to get the ball out. Hill is not an elite athlete or exceptionally fast for a center, but he was able to adjust to speed rushes and push them around the pocket. With his strength and powerful hands, Hill did a good job of sustaining blocks to prevent a second effort. Hill is effective on double teams with a guard and kept defenders from working free.
As a sophomore in the ground game Hill was strong at the point of attack and he was effective at pushing tackles out of their gap when he hit a double team with a guard. Georgia had a lot of success running behind the left side of their line with Thomas, Kindley, and Hill being a force at the point of attack. Hill is not blazing fast to the second level, but he was quick enough to fire out of his stance and get to defenders.
In 2020 Hill showed poor technique and a lot of stemmed from Hill getting overweight. Hill developed a tendency to lean forward too much with his weight pulling him that direction. Letting his weight get over his toes led to him getting into trouble for reaching after defenders. His weight, conditioning, and work habits will have to be monitored closely by his pro team.
Some NFL teams might prefer Hill at guard, but not many centers coming to the NFL have his size so the teams that want a big center should be intrigued with Hill. While Hill lacks elite quickness and movement for a center, he offers size and strength. Early in his pro career, Hill could be a starting interior offensive lineman like Kindley. In the 2021 NFL Draft, could be a late third-round or early fourth-round pick.
Player Comparison: Andre Gurode. Hill reminds me of Gurode, and if Hill loses some weight, I think he could be a comparable center to Gurode. Gurode (6-4, 320) was a Pro Bowler with the Cowboys and had center/guard flexibility along with big size. Hill could be similar, and if Hill had kept his weight in check, he could have been a second-round pick like Gurode was coming out of Colorado.
RELATED LINKS:
2021 NFL Mock Draft: Charlie’s | Walt’s
2021 NFL Draft Prospect Rankings
2021 NFL Draft Scouting Reports
2024 NFL Mock Draft - April 16
NFL Power Rankings - Feb. 22
Fantasy Football Rankings - Feb. 19
NFL Picks - Feb. 12
