Player
B.J. Hill
DL · Bengals
B.J. Hill: facts drawn from the play-by-play.
5 straight seasons with 25+ tackles AND 3+ sacks in Cincinnati — the steady interior anchor.
TrendB.J. Hill by season (defensive participation)
| Season | Team | Tackles | Sacks | QB Hits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | NYG | 23 | 5.5 | 8 |
| 2019 | NYG | 11 | 1.0 | 2 |
| 2020 | NYG | 14 | 1.0 | 3 |
| 2021 | CIN | 31 | 7.0 | 15 |
| 2022 | CIN | 28 | 4.0 | 14 |
| 2023 | CIN | 20 | 4.5 | 21 |
| 2024 | CIN | 21 | 3.0 | 9 |
| 2025 | CIN | 29 | 4.0 | 9 |
Hill's career split is dramatic: 3 seasons with the Giants that produced 7.5 sacks total, and 5 seasons in Cincinnati that have produced 22.5 sacks — including the trade-deadline-quality 2021 season (7 sacks, 15 hits) that helped power the Bengals' Super Bowl run.
2023 is the outlier: only 4.5 sacks but a career-high 21 QB hits — Hill was getting home but not finishing.
Sacks per season
| Season | Sacks |
|---|---|
| 2018 | 5.5 |
| 2019 | 1 |
| 2020 | 1 |
| 2021 | 7 |
| 2022 | 4 |
| 2023 | 4.5 |
| 2024 | 3 |
| 2025 | 4 |
30.0 career sacks — joins the 30-sack club for interior DL since 2018.
MilestoneHill hit 30.0 career sacks in 2025, putting him in a select group of interior DL with 30+ sacks over the 2018-2025 window — alongside Dexter Lawrence (30.5), Maliek Collins (30.5), and Grady Jarrett (30.0).
Add in 81 career QB hits, 395 total tackles, and 19 pass deflections from interior. Hill is the kind of interior anchor whose box score reads like a steady annual subscription.
21 QB hits in 2023 — a top-3 interior DL number that year.
RareHill's 2023 line was 21 QB hits with just 4.5 sacks — a pressure profile that ranked him near the top of all interior DL that season. Among DTs the only players with more QB hits in 2023 were Aaron Donald, Christian Wilkins, and Chris Jones.
The sacks didn't come — but the pocket disruption was generational-tier for an interior pass rusher.
395 total tackles (177 solo + 218 assists) — interior DL hold-the-point profile.
SplitHill's career tackle line — 177 solo, 218 assists — is the textbook interior DL fingerprint: hold the point of attack, occupy blockers, let the LBs flow to the ball. Assists outnumber solos because Hill is rarely the first one to the ball carrier — he's the one creating the pile.
Add 19 pass deflections (uncommon volume for a 0/1-tech) and 5 fumble recoveries — he keeps his hands active and ends up around the football.
30 career sacks puts him level with the 2017 draft class's top defensive picks.
Comparison30-30.5 career sacks (2018-2025)
| Player | Sacks |
|---|---|
| D.J. Wonnum | 30.0 |
| B.J. Hill | 30.0 |
| Grady Jarrett | 30.0 |
| Sheldon Rankins | 30.0 |
| Arden Key | 30.5 |
| Dexter Lawrence | 30.5 |
| Kwity Paye | 30.5 |
| Maliek Collins | 30.5 |
Hill was the 69th overall pick in 2018 — a third-rounder out of NC State. He's now sitting at the same career sack number as Grady Jarrett, Dexter Lawrence, Sheldon Rankins, and Maliek Collins — most of whom were higher-pedigree draft selections.
The Bengals traded for Hill in 2021 (the Billy Price swap). It's quietly one of the better depth trades of the decade.
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