 |
 |
 |
|
I don't know how the Denver Broncos do it, but every season, they find a running back where others cannot. Only this year, they've outdone themselves.
Because this year they went to the University of Arkansas, where scouts lined up for Darren McFadden and Felix Jones, and walked off with an unlikely running back who would make more of an impact.
|
|
| Hillis joins Denver's honor roll of draft steal RB stars. (US Presswire) |
His five touchdowns are more than McFadden and Jones. His average of 4.8 yards per carry is better than McFadden. And his 287 yards rushing are more than Jones, whose season ended abruptly with a hamstring injury.
It's no surprise that an Arkansas back would star this season -- we just didn't know it would be this Arkansas back.
"Yeah, it's been a crazy year for me and for them," said Hillis. "Some good and some bad. You have to deal with the cards you're dealt, and I'm here right now. I'm living in heaven. And I'm getting the ball as many times as I am.
"But it could be over tomorrow. The same with those guys. They were playing well and then they got hurt. You just have to play with what you're dealt."
That seems to be the mantra in Denver, where the Broncos annually play with the running backs they're dealt in the second day of the draft. The club has a history of low-round bull's-eyes, from Terrell Davis (6) to Olandis Gary (4) to Mike Anderson (6). Each ran for 1,000 yards in a season, with Davis once exceeding 2,000.
The difference here is that Hillis wasn't supposed to be a running back. He was supposed to be a fullback. A tight end. An H-back. Something, anything, but a tailback. But he was pressed into duty when the Broncos ran out of backs after rookie Ryan Torain, who missed three months earlier this season, bowed out last month.
That forced Mike Shanahan to dial 911, with the Broncos' head coach turning to Hillis, and the results speak for themselves: In his first start, he ran for 44 yards and scored twice. In his second, he rushed for 74 yards and scored again. Then came last weekend's breakout, with Hillis shredding the New York Jets for a career-best 129 yards -- one day after his father, who turned 44 on Saturday -- asked for 100 yards and two touchdowns as a birthday present.
Hillis followed through on the first request and would've followed through on the second had a 14-yard score not been called back because of a penalty.
"Everything happens for a reason," said Hillis. "That's what my Dad keeps telling me all the time. And it looks like they worked out well for me. I lucked out. From here on, I want to be humble, stay positive and let good things happen. Wherever they put me I will try my best to excel."
He already aced that test -- so well, in fact, that there is talk of keeping him as the primary running back when Selvin Young returns from a strained groin muscle. There is also talk of taking advantage of his considerable abilities as a receiver by making him a tight end/H-back, much like Dallas Clark in Indianapolis.
All I know is that the Broncos are a better team with Hillis running the football, winning three of their last four after he was pressed into service at his new position.
"He's with the right team," said an AFC personnel director, "because they can take advantage of his abilities. The problem for us was: How do you use him and where does he play? He's a real versatile guy who was going to be a contributor for someone."
That someone is Denver, with Hillis the first rookie in club history to produce games of 100 yards rushing and receiving in the same season. The Broncos expected something from him this year, but not this: He not only has outperformed McFadden and Jones, two of the top 22 draft choices, he produced one more score last weekend than another and more notable Peyton.
"I'm really happy with where I am, and with what I'm doing," said Hillis. "And I can only hope it continues to get better from here on out."
Score another direct hit for the Denver Broncos.
