INDIANAPOLIS -- It’s a question NFL draft prospects often field.
“What NFL player do you think your style of play resembles?”
Regardless of position, prospects usually name a handful of either active or hall of fame players who they admire. It’s honest, but also a cliché.
When Ohio State’s K.J. Hill was asked a similar question on Wednesday at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, he didn’t sound like contemporaries who list Michael Thomas, Julio Jones or DeAndre Hopkins as their inspiration.
Hill meant no disrespect by not mentioning those greats, but his answer was pointed and specific. He emulates one man, and that pass-catcher resides in Cleveland.
“I definitely model my game after Jarvis Landry. I love Jarvis. I feel like me and him have similar type games. He’s just got that dog in him. He’s not always perfect but he always comes down with the ball.”
Landry (6-0, 200 pounds) and Hill (6-0, 195 pounds) hold similar skill sets. Landry is an NFL reception monster. In 2019, he set an NFL record for most catches by a player in their first six seasons. He averages 94 catches a year and has some of the most respected hands in football.
Hill is a reception machine himself. After four years in Columbus, he set the Buckeyes record for career receptions with 201.
The Browns met with Hill at the Senior Bowl and Hill said things went well.
“We talked a lot about Ohio State. The connection is right there," he said. “(Playing for) the Browns would be like staying home. Everybody loves the Browns in Ohio and everyone in Ohio State, on my team that is from Ohio, roots on the Browns. So it would be a staying home feeling.”
When asked if he has ever connected with Landry, Hill said he has not ever met or had the opportunity to speak with him. Perhaps that’ll change soon when he officially enters Landry’s line of work in a few months.
And if the Browns were to pull the trigger on Hill, then he already knows exactly what he’d ask his idol.
“I’d ask him about his one-handers,” he said with a laugh. “Who has the better one-handed catches? Me or you?”
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