Dontrell Hilliard doesn’t get much publicity in the Cleveland Browns backfield. Being fourth on the depth chart behind Nick Chubb, Kareem Hunt and Duke Johnson keeps Hilliard largely anonymous in the national media, and he’s rarely talked about by Browns fans either.
That doesn’t mean the Browns don’t appreciate the second-year back from Tulane. Hilliard continues to impress and make the most of his opportunities with Cleveland. After a rookie campaign where he didn’t get any carries but did catch 9 passes and served as one of the team’s primary kick returners, Hilliard could be in line for bigger things even with the logjam above him.
Hilliard has a believer in new Browns RB coach, and former NFL RB, Stump Mitchell. Yet Mitchell wants him to be even better.
“He’s got to believe that he belongs and we expect him to come out every day and make plays,” Mitchell said of Hilliard during the final week of OTAs. “I think what he has to understand is that he has to believe in himself as much as we believe in him. Now, he’s getting an opportunity. This is huge for him, and he’s having one heck of a spring training camp.”
With Johnson’s status up in the air — the veteran has requested a trade and skipped all the offseason activities thus far — and Hunt suspended for the first half of 2019, Mitchell is right on. The opportunity is huge for Hilliard.
