{"id":256986,"date":"2025-12-01T18:11:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-01T23:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=256986"},"modified":"2025-12-01T18:11:00","modified_gmt":"2025-12-01T23:11:00","slug":"anthony-hill-jr-early-2026-nfl-draft-scouting-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/12\/01\/anthony-hill-jr-early-2026-nfl-draft-scouting-report\/","title":{"rendered":"Anthony Hill Jr. Early 2026 NFL Draft Scouting Report"},"content":{"rendered":"

Texas<\/a> has had a rollercoaster season after entering 2025 as the top-ranked team in the nation. Despite having three losses, the Longhorns still have a glimmer of hope to make the College Football Playoff. Time will tell if their wins over Texas A&M<\/a>, Oklahoma<\/a>, and Vanderbilt<\/a> sway the committee. Texas boasts one of the most talented rosters in college football, most notably linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. Hill has been a staple of the Longhorns defense for three seasons, and is one of the top players at his position. The traits of an elite linebacker at the next level are evident. How does Hill stack up in a strong 2026 linebacker class?<\/p>\n

2026 NFL Draft: Anthony Hill Jr. Early Scouting Report<\/h2>\n

Measurables<\/h3>\n

Height- 6-foot-3<\/p>\n

Weight- 238 pounds<\/p>\n

Background<\/h3>\n

Hill was a five-star recruit coming out of Denton Ryan (Texas) and the top-ranked linebacker in the Class of 2023<\/a>. He was initially committed to Texas A&M, but flipped to in-state rival Texas. Hill wasted no time making a name for himself in Austin, racking up 67 total tackles, eight tackles for loss, and five sacks as a true freshman. After winning the Big 12<\/a> in 2023, Steve Sarkisian<\/a> and the Longhorns were off to the SEC<\/a>. Hill improved his production against better competition, emerging as an elite linebacker in 2024. He led the conference with 16.5 tackles for loss and four forced fumbles<\/a> in his sophomore campaign. Hill also had 113 total tackles, eight sacks, and an interception in 16 games.<\/p>\n

While he put up monster numbers last season, his tackling was inconsistent. Hill had a 15.3% missed-tackle rate, according to PFF. In 2025, he’s improved dramatically as a tackler, putting up an 88.8 tackling grade<\/a>, while his missed tackle rate has dropped to 4.5%. Hill has maintained impressive production, recording 69 tackles, seven tackles for loss, and four sacks this season. He’s also got two interceptions and three forced fumbles in 2025. Hill missed the last two games of the regular season with a hand injury<\/a> suffered against Georgia<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Strengths<\/h3>\n
\"Anthony
Jul 15, 2025; Atlanta, GA, USA; Texas Longhorns linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. answers questions from the media during SEC Media Days at Omni Atlanta Hotel. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The best part of Hill’s game is his athleticism. He was a five-star prospect for a reason: his speed and ability to quickly change directions are incredible. Hill’s burst after the snap allows him to be in position to make plays consistently. His size is good enough for the position, given his athletic traits. He’s shown tremendous improvement as a tackler throughout his college career and is dangerous as a pass rusher on blitzes. Hill has proven production on splash plays, with 31.5 tackles for loss, 17 sacks, and eight forced fumbles in college. He also excels at reading gaps as a run defender.<\/p>\n

Weaknesses<\/h3>\n

While Hill has improved at tackling, there are still times when he overpursues ball carriers and whiffs on tackles. He can also struggle to disengage from blockers, missing out on opportunities to be even more productive. Hill isn’t a great in coverage despite his elite athletic profile.<\/p>\n

Overview<\/h3>\n

The 2026 NFL Draft has multiple first-round-caliber linebackers. It’s possible that three or four off-ball linebackers get taken on day one. Arvell Reese<\/a> has emerged as the clear frontrunner in the class. Hill has all the traits of an All-Pro and has shown the ability to make game-changing plays. His athleticism brings immense value as both a run defender and a pass rusher. There’s still room for growth in coverage and consistency in tackling. Hill currently projects as an early second-round pick, but could elevate to a first-rounder with strong tests at his Pro Day and the NFL Combine.<\/p>\n

Main Image: Jermoe Miron – Imagn Images<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Texas has had a rollercoaster season after entering 2025 as the top-ranked team in the nation. Despite having three losses, the Longhorns still have a glimmer of hope to make the College Football Playoff. Time will tell if their wins over Texas A&M, Oklahoma, and Vanderbilt sway the committee. Texas boasts one of the most […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5581,"featured_media":256998,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1647,33760],"tags":[33830,2030,2345],"class_list":["post-256986","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl-draft","category-profiles","tag-anthony-hill-jr","tag-nfl-draft-profiles","tag-texas-longhorns"],"modified_by":"Isaac Zuniga","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256986","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5581"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=256986"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256986\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":257001,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256986\/revisions\/257001"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/256998"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=256986"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=256986"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=256986"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}