Hybrid safety/nickel with an outstanding blend of speed, explosiveness and coverage versatility. Hill is a smooth, twitchy athlete who is unencumbered in his coverage movements. He's rangy playing over the top, has the eyes and burst to play zone, and the oily hips and length to shade bigger slots in man coverage. He can trigger quickly downhill to cut off angles in run support but his play demeanor is more run-and-cover than run-and-hit near the line. Hill has premium athletic traits, enticing coverage talent and the ability to make plays on the ball from anywhere he is aligned. He's sure to be a coveted target for defenses trapped in pass-happy divisions.
Safety prospect with decent size and toughness but a lack of instincts and range could lock him into a narrower role as a pro. Hawkins doesn't have the ball skills or comfort level needed to play too far off the line of scrimmage. He's a productive run supporter and capable tackler, so his best opportunity to play in the league could be as a core special-teamer with nickel linebacker and dime safety value.
