Rookie Hill leading the Giants in sacks

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — There’s been so much attention showered on halfback Saquon Barkley, it’s easy to forget the New York Giants have been getting contributions from some other rookies.

Will Hernandez, the second-round pick, has started all 12 games at left guard and helped Barkley get within 46 yards of a 1,000-yard rushing season.

The guy who gets overlooked is defensive lineman B.J. Hill, the third-round pick out of North Carolina State who was the 69th player chosen in the draft.

Hill, who started two of the first seven games, has been a mainstay in the lineup since New York traded defensive tackle Damon Harrison to Detroit in October.

“When he came in, the thing that stood out the most, is that he’s ahead of his time in terms of his maturity level,” defensive coordinator James Bettcher said Thursday.

Bettcher also is impressed Hill is not hitting the wall late in the season. He is actually playing better.

A North Carolina State product, Hill had a career game this past weekend against the Chicago Bears with three tackles and three sacks. He has a team-high five sacks, which ties the team rookie record set by linebacker Andy Headen in 1983 and tied by tackle Cornelius Griffin in 2000.

Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor had 91⁄2 sacks as a rookie in 1981, but that was a year before sacks became an official statistic, so it is not officially the record.