Unless you’re a fantasy football junkie or a Denver Broncos fan, you might not have heard of Peyton Hillis.  Peyton Hillis is a rookie Broncos RB converted from FB.  He is a complete beast at 6’2″, 250 pounds.  Hillis became the Broncos feature back in week 10 once Selvin Young and Andre Hall went down with injuries.  Unfortunately, Hillis himself got injured in week 14, but boy was he impressive in that five-game stretch.

Hillis ended the year with 68 carries for 343 yards — a 5.0 yards-per-carry (YPC) average.  He also showcased the ability to catch the ball with 14 receptions for 179 yards — a 12.8 YPC average.

After seeing Hillies play, it reminds me a lot of a guy that the Eagles have on their roster that is seldom used: Kyle Eckel.  Maybe the similarities end at them both being big, white runningbacks, but there may be more similarities between the two.  Eckel is a solid 5’11″, 237 pounds.  Not as big as Hillis, but close.

Eagles fans are in search of a “big back,” but who says Kyle Eckel can’t be that guy?  When he’s touched the ball this season, he’s had some impressive carries.  He only had 24 carries for a mere 79 yards — a 3.3 YPC average, which isn’t stellar on paper, but he’s mostly been called in a few times just to convert short yards for a first down (or just run out the clock against Arizona and Cleveland).

Of course you want Westbrook and Buckhalter out there 99% of the time, but Eckel has been valuable on 3rd and 1.  I wouldn’t object to a few more carries for the big fella.