Shaun Hill - Week 1 vs. Titans
Shaun Hill was the starter on the Vikings' first unofficial depth chart, and there's been no word from the team since then. There's a chance Sam Bradford ends up starting, but for now, we've got to take Minnesota's word that Hill will be under center against the Titans in Week 1.
Whoever starts, they likely won't be a good option. The Vikings are very run-heavy as their passing stats were next-to-last in 2015, and Hill isn't that great of a quarterback to begin with. There's really no reason to like him this week, outside of the favorable matchup. He's a bottom-of-the-barrel quarterback play.
Week 17: Hill vs. Seahawks
Shaun Hill completed 24-of-32 passes for 290 yards with two touchdowns and one interception in the Rams' Week 16 loss to the Giants. Despite throwing for nearly 300 yards and tossing two touchdowns, Hill was mostly ineffective against a poor New York defense. Now Hill and the inconsistent St. Louis offense will travel to Seattle on Sunday to take on the best defense in the league. Leave Hill on your waiver wire.
Week 16: Hill vs. Giants
Shaun Hill was 20-of-39 for 229 yards and an interception in the Rams’ Week 15 loss to the Cardinals. Hill was highly ineffective, showing little accuracy on deep passes and throwing high and behind open targets. He has a great matchup against the Giants this Sunday but we rank him as our No. 24 overall QB for Week 16 and wouldn’t trust him in a playoff or championship game.
Week 15: Hill vs. Cardinals
Shaun Hill completed 16-of-22 passes for 213 yards with two touchdowns and zero interceptions in the Rams' Week 14 win over the Redskins. Hill was efficient for the second straight week and put up decent fantasy production for owners that were in a bind at quarterback last week. (He even out-produced Peyton Manning.) But the Rams' passing game remains inconsistent and Hill is often asked to manage the game as opposed to win it. Thus, if you wound up using him last week, avoid Hill versus a tough Arizona defense on Thursday night.
Week 14: Hill vs. Redskins
Shaun Hill bounced back from his rough performance against San Diego in Week 12 by completing 13-of-22 passes for 183 yards with two touchdowns and no picks in the Rams’ 52-0 stomping of the Raiders last Sunday. Hill also rushed for a touchdown off play-action in the first half to cap off what turned out to be a great fantasy day for the journeyman QB. With a great matchup against a bad Washington defense this week, if you’re in a two-quarterback league you could do worse than Hill, who is our No. 19 overall QB for Week 14.
Week 13: Hill vs. Raiders
Shaun Hill was 18-of-35 for 198 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions in the Rams' Week 12 loss to the Chargers. Hill threw an interception on the team's opening offensive possession, lost a fumble that was returned for a San Diego touchdown, and also threw an interception inside the 5-yard line with a minute left to play to end St. Louis' comeback attempts in the fourth quarter. Jeff Fisher made the decision to bench Austin Davis and go back to Hill in large part to cut down on turnovers but that's exactly what doomed the Rams last week. Given his role as a game manager in St. Louis' limited passing game, Hill has no fantasy value and should remain on your waiver wire.
Week 12: Hill vs. Chargers
Shaun Hill was 20-for-29 for 220 yards and a touchdown in the Rams’ shocking win over the Broncos in Week 11. Hill was efficient, hitting Kenny Britt on a deep touchdown pass in the first quarter and avoiding turning the ball over, which was one of the reasons why Hill got his job back from Austin Davis. That said, even with a nice matchup this Sunday against the Chargers Hill isn’t a reliable fantasy option. He’ll continue to be asked to manage games, which suppresses his fantasy potential. Leave him on your waiver wire, even in two QB leagues.
Week 11: Hill vs. Broncos
Following his fourth quarter collapse in the Rams’ Week 10 loss to the Cardinals, Austin Davis has been benched in favor of veteran Shaun Hill, who will start on Sunday versus the Broncos. Hill hasn’t played since suffering an injury in Week 1 versus the Vikings. He was 8-of-13 for 81 yards and an interception in that game and the expectation is that he can take care of the football better than Austin did. No matter who is under center the Rams’ offense lacks an identity as it's neither dominant in the running game or efficient with their passing attack. Hill doesn’t hold much fantasy value, even in two QB leagues. Avoid him.
Week 1: Hill vs. Vikings
Shaun Hill will make his Rams' debut on Sunday as he steps into the starting role following Sam Bradford's season-ending ACL injury. Jeff Fisher has already stated that the team won't change the offense now that Hill is under center, although the Rams will remain a run-first offense. At some point this season Hill could become a viable waiver wire option as a QB2, but for now he should stay on your WW. He ranks as our No. 23 overall QB for Week 1.
Fantasy Upside
Coach Jeff Fisher announced that Shaun Hill would be the Rams’ starting quarterback following the season-ending knee injury to Sam Bradford. At 34, Hill isn’t going to come in and light the world on fire but he is a savvy veteran that has had plenty of time to learn OC Brian Schottenheimer’s system. While the team could ultimately decide to bring in another quarterback to bolster their depth, Hill will still have the first crack at holding onto the starting job. He offers a steady upgrade over Kellen Clemens, who was thrust into the starter’s job a year ago when Bradford initially tore his ACL.
Fantasy Downside
Hill isn’t going to have a breakout campaign at age 34. He also hasn’t played much over the last two years and will be at the commands of a run-first offense. In 2010, Hill threw for 2,686 yards with 16 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in 10 starts with the Lions. Even if he plays well, he’s not going to light up the stat sheet because the Rams are going to rely heavily on their running game and defense to win games. He’ll also face San Francisco and Seattle twice this season, making for four bad fantasy matchups.
Bottom Line
The Rams are going to lean heavily on their running game and defense to win games and while they’re not going to change their offense under Hill, he’s still going to be limited in the passing game. Simply put, his fantasy production is going to be limited because he’s not going to be allowed to air it out on a semi-weekly basis. At best he’ll be a QB2 and a reliable waiver wire pickup for owners with bye week issues during the season, depending on the matchup, of course.
