Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - PROSPECT SPOTLIGHT: Anthony Hill Jr. May Be Indianapolis Colts' MOST IDEAL Pick in NFL Draft

Starting point is 00:00:00 There's a linebacker in this draft who is tailor-made for the Indianapolis Colts. Let's get to it. You are Locked-on Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. All right, welcome to Locked-on Colts, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network. I am your host, Jake Arthur, the Indianapolis Colts beat writer for Roundtable Sports, and we continue our prospect spotlight series today. Looking at a player who might be one of the betting favorites to hear his name called by the Colts in the second round,

Starting point is 00:00:45 it is Texas linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. So when I first started my draft study this year, I had heard it was an awesome linebacker class, that there was loads of guys to get first round, second round, third round, what have you. And when I started watching guys, I was just, I found. myself pretty underwhelmed at what I was seeing initially, just at guys sporadically throughout the draft. But it was when I got to Anthony Hill, Jr., out of Texas, that I really turned my attention on more. I was like, oh, there really are guys who have all the traits that I really like. So today we'll talk about who he is as a player, as a prospect, and how that fits with the

Starting point is 00:01:27 Indianapolis Colts. So let's go ahead and give you a little bit of background here. He is a 21-year-old. old prospect, young guy, just turned 21 recently. So he's going to be playing his rookie season as a 21-year-old. So you like to get a guy who has already got kind of the polish that he has at this young. You're already getting someone with a ton of upside. Great size is 6 foot 2, 238 pounds with over 32-inch arms. So he's got really good height. He has the weight of like a classic linebacker as well.

Starting point is 00:02:02 but he moves around really, really well, and he's got that kind of length that Chris Ballard, for example, really looks for in a linebacker prospect. He is a, he comes from the state of Texas, so you know you're getting a good football player just in general there.

Starting point is 00:02:19 He was a high school track star and a five-star football recruit out of Denton, Texas. So having a track background is actually a pretty big deal. There's a lot of really, really, really good players with a track background. He did some of the jumping events

Starting point is 00:02:35 and the sprinting events as well. So this is a guy who came into Texas as a true freshman and contributed right away. The reason he's so young entering the draft right now is because he's a true junior. So young guy, great background, ground out of high school. When he got to the combine, he showed off some good explosive athletic testing,

Starting point is 00:02:55 ran a 451 in the 40 with a 37-inch vertical and a 10-foot-5 broad jump. statistically. Played in 10 games this year, but played in like 16 the year before. So a lot of stats to talk about over those last couple years. But overall, for his college career, 31.5 tackles for loss, 17 sacks. Mind you, this is an offball linebacker with eight forced fumbles, three fumbles recovered, three picks, and four pass breakups.

Starting point is 00:03:26 So again, this is an offball linebacker that affects the game in a lot of different way. a true three-down player. When you look at his tape, you see a guy, the first thing that came out to me is, when I get an off-ball linebacker, I want them to be assertive and aggressive against the run. I don't want them just sitting there at the second level, letting things come to them.

Starting point is 00:03:47 We've seen a bunch of linebackers over the years who wind up with 150 tackles, but they don't go get the ball. They let it come to them. That is not the case with Hill here. Again, he's assertive against the run and looks to make the play himself. When he's out in the open, you see fluid hips and quick feet, which means he changes directions really quickly.

Starting point is 00:04:07 I think he shows good contact balance as well. He's not the kind of guy who's going to run into somebody and it completely takes him out of the play. He is really solid in pursuit and can kind of sift through the trash that way. I think when he does engage with blockers, he uses his hands well. And he's got those long arms, which helps him disengage and keeps him separation. so it keeps blockers out of his chest. In coverage, past defense, he has 282 career snaps, either lined up in the slot at safety or out wide.

Starting point is 00:04:39 So this is a guy who, we already know, he moves all around very well. He's not stiff at all, and he was trusted by Texas to be moved around in a multitude of different areas. Will Must champ is the defensive coordinator there, very successful college coach, very notable college coach. who trusted a guy like Hill to do a whole lot of different things in the middle of that defense.

Starting point is 00:05:04 I think he's got good instincts for how to contour his body to evade blocks or to crash down on the ball when it's coming in his area. Now, that's all fine and dandy. He's a very good player, but let's get to some couple negatives here. I do think he's prone to over pursue the ball at times or not wrap up, which can lead to some whiffs. in 2024 when he played, you know, the 16 games, that huge sample size. He had 18 missed tackles in 2024, but cut it down to just three in 2025. So this is a guy who had low mistackle numbers in 2023 as a true freshman. In 2024, it was out of this world.

Starting point is 00:05:44 He had a bunch of mistackles, but then cut it down to a single season career best. Again, just three last year. I think those are great numbers. He went in pursuit when he's playing in the box and he's coming through the gap. He can be laser focused against the run, which can lead him to go off target at times that the ball isn't going exactly where he thought it was going. So I think with that is just more film study, more playing time, just trusting what you see is kind of how that comes about. And then something I thought was really telling Lanceurline from NFL.com is someone who every year,

Starting point is 00:06:23 I put a lot of stock in his thoughts, and I think we see a lot of things similarly. And so I didn't necessarily have a comp for Hill after I watched him, but Zerling compared him to Bobby Wagner, who when he's done playing, is going to be getting his gold jacket fitted for Canton. So while it's not necessarily a career projection, it's more of a play style. I can kind of see that now. Wagner has been a playmaker and statutes stuffer throughout his career. career, high tackle numbers even later in his career now, and he's well over 30 years old, and was always really, really good against the past and coverage. So I can see that. I like that comparison. It's not when I went to naturally, but now when I saw Zerline write that out,

Starting point is 00:07:10 I pretty much agree with that. So coming up next, how does Hill, what does this all have to do with the Colts? When might they be able to get him? We'll talk about that in just a moment. If you've ever opened your bank account and thought, where did all of my money go? Then you are not alone. I think a lot of us have been in that boat. Keeping track of subscriptions, spending, and bills can get overwhelming fast. But that's where rocket money comes in, helping you take control of your finances all in one place. It tracks all your subscriptions in one spot.

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Starting point is 00:09:20 Well, if they're going to get him, they're going to have to get him at 47, and that's unless they have to move up to get him. I have seen him picked in the bottom of the first round. I've seen him picked around 50 just after the Colts. So I think that sweet spot from about 30 to 50 is where we're going to see this guy go. Of course, the Colts are at 47. So if he's going to become a Colt, it's going to have to be in the second round there. Now, why would the Colts need him?

Starting point is 00:09:47 They need a Mike linebacker. They need linebacker help in general, but they need now. specifically a Mike linebacker after they signed free agent Akeem Davis Gather. He's going to be more naturally a will linebacker. So you got that hole to fill where Zeyer Franklin was. Hill is a Mike linebacker. He's one of the few ideal ones early in the draft of the Colts. You know, Jacob Rodriguez, obviously is probably the most realistic option of guys who will

Starting point is 00:10:13 probably be there. But from what I've seen, him and Hill are kind of neck and neck with where their draft projections are. you could pretty much clarify them as 1A and 1B. So we've definitely talked about Rodriguez quite a bit. So Anthony Hill being here, again, one of the very few ideal fits. You could probably throw Josiah Trotter in there as well at Mike Linebacker for guys who could contribute right away. So he'll size his athleticism, the mobility and range that he shows going sideline to sideline.

Starting point is 00:10:47 his experience is a three-year player. He played right away as a true freshman and his production. All those things, I think, come together to say that he's going to be an instant impact three-down player for the Colts. And this is a guy who, I mean, you're looking beyond Zair Franklin at this rate. I think he could become better than Zyre Franklin within a couple years. But, you know, Shaquille Leonard is that feeling you're kind of chasing that the Colts have had at linebacker. for as good as Shaquille Leonard was at what he did, which was taking the ball with the punchouts,

Starting point is 00:11:22 the interceptions, all that. His instincts were great, but just his overall game as a linebacker was kind of lacking. You know, he got hung up on blocks a lot. He sometimes went to the wrong hole, I mean, which they all do against the run. But he was prone to being kind of taken out by the counter stuff, the options and play action and things like that.

Starting point is 00:11:45 And then again, and getting caught on blocks was probably his biggest issue. Anthony Hill Jr.'s total game as a linebacker overall is more well balanced than Leonard's was. Now, Leonard has the force multiplier as the huge playmaker that takes the ball away. But, I mean, Hill's not so bad at that either. Like I mentioned, he's got a ton of force fumbles and a few interceptions to his name as well. So when you look at Hill's fit and just his like career arc, like I think you could be seeing

Starting point is 00:12:15 the best Colts linebacker in quite some time. And again, like I mentioned, fit with the Colts, it allows everything around him to flow a little more naturally. So you can have Akeem Davis Gaither play Will when you have Hill there as your Mike linebacker. You don't need to use your safeties as much to come down as dime linebacker. So you got like Hunter Roller, Wannier Thomas, those guys. You don't have to use them in those roles. You can, I mean, it gives Lou Aneruma more flexibility to use those guys however he pleases. I mean, they still can come down and dime, but you don't need them to because Zyre Franklin, for as good as he could be against the run sometimes, he left a lot there to be desired in coverage. Same thing with Jermaine Pratt. That would not be an issue

Starting point is 00:13:01 here with Anthony Hill Jr. whatsoever. So this is a guy as we get closer in these next several days until the draft gets here. Hill might be the best fit for the Colts overall in the second round. We love Jacob Rodriguez. He would be a perfect fit as well. But Anthony Hill brings more size than Rodriguez does. He's a little better athlete. And I think he's a little more fluid and mobile.

Starting point is 00:13:29 You know what I mean? So both of those guys, the Colts would be incredibly lucky and fortunate to get at 47. But if you're looking for tiebreakers, I think Anthony Hill gets him by just a nose. So thanks again for joining me today, guys, on Lockdown Colts and the Prospect Spotlight series. We'll be back tonight for the Colts Squad Show with myself, Zach Hicks, Derek Shultz, and Alan Pinkett. If you guys don't already, make sure that you subscribe to our show so that you get all of the latest episodes.

Starting point is 00:13:57 Follow at Lockdown Colts at Jake Arthur NFL and at Zach Hicks, too, on social media. Don't forget to check out the EveryDare Club also for ad-free audio episodes. and access a group chat with Zach me and other listeners of the show. Right now, we're taking everybody's mock drafts on the mock draft simulators over on the Everydayer Club if you didn't see our social callouts today. So make sure you participate in that so we can react to them on the Friday show. And then if you, again, the link, it's locked on colts.supercast.com or you could just tap in the show notes. And with that, thank you guys again for joining today and we will see you later tonight.

Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - PROSPECT SPOTLIGHT: Anthony Hill Jr. May Be Indianapolis Colts' MOST IDEAL Pick in NFL Draft

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