The 2019 NFL season just kicked off a few days ago as the Atlanta Falcons and Denver Broncos faced off. The two teams competed in the first preseason game, also known as the Hall of Fame Game. The game was played ahead of the 2019 Hall of Fame enshrinement in Canton, Ohio. The Broncos squeaked away with a 14-10 win.

With all that excitement surrounding the game, many players were fighting for a spot on the 53-man roster of their respective teams. We saw rookies, sophomores, and old veterans trying to survive in the league. With all the gameplay, one running back from each team shined early. Broncos’ Khalfani Muhammad and Falcons’ Brian Hill proved on Day 1 of the preseason they belong in the NFL.

Muhammad finished the game with 7 carries for 50 yards and a touchdown. He also caught a team-high 4 passes for 24 yards. Brian Hill finished the Hall of Fame game with 11 carries for 57 yards. He also had a receiving touchdown.

Muhammad is entering his second year in the NFL while Hill enters his third. Neither player has standout capabilities like Saquon Barkley or Le’Veon Bell, but they have certain qualities that make them unique. In this article, we will look at some strengths and weaknesses that occur in their gameplay.

Running between tackles

Muhammad and Hill have similar capabilities when hitting the hole. Hill has a slightly bigger stature though.

Hill hits holes with full speed immediately. The positive side of this is that it makes him a physical back that is tough to tackle. He can also hit the second level and fight for extra yards every time. The downside of Hill is he is impatient. He can punch through the hole too fast, and he will not have any blocking support. His speed also causes him to lose balance and makes him easier to tackle at times too. For example, in the video below, he loses his balance.

Hill first attacks the left tackle but realizes a cutback lane is wide open. Instead of slowing down and changing direction, Hill takes a hard plant and loses control. His step was too far out of his shoulder-length width and caused his body weight to shift awkwardly. Due to the lousy pivot, the defense catches up to Hill and brings him down.

In this clip, Hill bounces through another cutback lane after a power run to the left. On the negative side of this play, Hill’s change of direction was not fluid. His body level while planting was weak as he was standing nearly straight up. This caused an uncertain shift in direction and did not fool the defender.

On the positive side, Hill’s burst of speed allowed him to leap forward for about 4 yards. He was hit at the line of scrimmage, but his physicality and momentum from his speed forced him to pick up four more yards than expected.

Overall, Hill is a physical runner that can fight for extra yards but will not be elusive enough to juke defenders.

Muhammad is similar as he is a north-south runner. He is a small 5’7″, 175-pound back that hits the hole with full speed as well. He can slip through tackles, but he cannot break through a tackle.

In this clip, we see with the green line he hits the original hole within seconds. He picks up a few yards shown in the red line, but once he is hit, he drops. Muhammad is small enough to slide through for a few yards before he is hit. Muhammad is tough to tackle in the box because of his pad level. Although he is easy to tackle, it’s hard to locate and attempt to tackle him before he flies by the defender.

Muhammad’s north-south running is not as common anymore in the NFL, but he brings it back a bit. The lack of size holds Muhammad from being a genuine threat in the middle of the field, though.

Running outside the tackles

Outside running plays are Muhammad and Hill’s bread and butter. The north-south speed backs utilize their bursts down the sidelines tremendously. These backs don’t need to worry as much with blocking supporting their speed as they can roll down the sideline in 1-on-1 matchups.

In this clip, Muhammad patiently observes the offensive line get their first and second-level blocks. Even though the right tackle held, Muhammad notices he has outside leverage and bounces outside. He then switches the ball to his other hand so it will not be stripped away. Muhammad utilizes his speed and blasts down the sideline until he has a 1-on-1 matchup.

Muhammad’s speed and elusiveness gave him outside leverage to fight for a few more yards before running out of bounds. His 4.34 40-yard speed turned a no gain inside run to a 20+ yard gain to the outside. The play was called back for holding, but Muhammad’s speed and size make him a threat outside of the hash marks.

In Hill’s play, he has a sweep to the left. With eight Broncos’ players in the box, it matched the five linemen and three receivers in the bunch left formation. This allowed Hill to be free to run down the sideline. Hill did not have to worry too much about progression in blocks. Hill’s speed makes him capable of cutting down the sideline quickly and shed the shoulder truck from the safety.

Hill’s physicality, quick acceleration, and lack of patience came into good use. He had another similar run in the game where he utilizes the sideline as support. He forces the defenders to go out of their original position to chase him down the sideline with a good angle. If not, Hill can break free for a significant gain or a touchdown.

Catching

Hill only had two catches in the Hall of Fame Game, a wide-open flat route for a one-yard touchdown and a flat route that resulted in a loss of three yards. Hill’s weakness is his catching skill. In college, he only had 41 career catches. In the NFL, he has three for 45 yards.

Muhammad, on the other hand, is a perfect third-down back. The Darren Sproles‘ like running back can play as a receiver or a receiving back. Muhammad’s change of direction and route running isn’t beautiful, but it gets the job done.

On this play, Muhammad attacks the cornerback with his speed. Muhammad acts like he will run a streak by sprinting and forcing the corner to defend a deep ball. After five yards, he turns around quickly and comes back to the ball so the corner cannot attack the ball before Muhammad. Muhammad makes the catch by reaching his hands out and turns out to the sideline for a 5-yard gain.

These small gains are what keep defenses honest and not stacking the box. Muhammad’s capability to catch as a receiver gives him a massive advantage on staying on the roster.

Final Verdict

Both of these running backs stole the show in the Hall of Fame game. It will be a shock if either player does not make their team. Both of these running backs will not be starters anytime soon, but they provide variety.

Hill will be able to provide physical punishment and can spread defenses too. With injuries piling up in Atlanta’s backfield, Hill might be seeing some playing time here and there. He must work on his air game though if he wants to jump up the depth chart. He also has to be more patient too.

Muhammad can do a little of everything. He is stuck behind a soon to be elite Phillip Lindsay. But, Muhammad can be a third-down back used in halfback draws, stretches, passing plays, and screens. Muhammad’s speed may also be used in punt/kickoff returns too.

Each player has three more preseason games to prove how much more they can give on the field.

Nick Zeller-Singh is a writer for the Pro Football Network covering the PFN Film Room. You can follow him @zickster21 on Twitter.