On this date, one year ago the Bengals acquired defensive tackle B.J. Hill from the New York Giants in exchange for center Billy Price.
Price had his best season in Cincinnati during 2018 under offensive line coach Frank Pollack, but the former first-round pick struggled for most of his three seasons with the Bengals. Hill showed his potential in New York, but was caught in the middle of a strong defensive line rotation.
Initially, this trade looked like this was two teams adding depth and swapping players in the last year of their rookie contracts. Instead, Hill went on to exceed expectations for the Bengals.
Hill was slotted as a rotational player behind DJ Reader and Larry Ogunjobi. He made noise in his first game as a Bengal with two sacks, three tackles (two for loss) and two quarterback hits in Week 1 against the Vikings.
The defensive tackle would finish the regular season with 5.5 sacks, 50 tackles, six tackles, and 12 quarterback hits.
Hill was not only a menace in applying pressure, but sufficient in stopping the run.
His moment to remember came in the AFC Championship game when he tipped a pass from Patrick Mahomes and caught it at the Chiefs 30 yard-line. The Bengals offense would capitalize off of Hill’s interception with the game-tying touchdown and two-point conversion en route to the overtime win.
Cincinnati would reward Hill with a three-year, $30 million contract extension this offseason and a starting job. Hill will look to continue to build off last season as he lines up alongside Reader, Trey Hendrickson, and Sam Hubbard on September 11th against the Steelers.
For more on the Bengals, watch the video below and subscribe to our YouTube Channel.
More must-reads: