Let’s be honest: there’s not a whole lot to smile about in Titans land right now.

But the youth, they are our future. And Tennessee Titans second-round rookie linebacker Anthony Hill just earned something from the NFL that few Titans before him have. When you look at the lists he joins, it hints at some very exciting things for his career.

Hill has been named the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month for September, a high honor recognizing a three-game stretch that has been nothing short of impressive for a player who wasn’t always expected to start this early.

Hill’s path to the starting lineup came faster than expected

Hill is in the starting lineup and has been since Week 1, but that was a little unexpected. The Titans’ timeline for getting him in there was uncertain at the beginning of the season. We knew that eventually he would break his way into the rotation and become a starter, but we weren’t quite sure when.

That math was made a lot simpler when veteran linebacker Cedric Gray suffered a concussion over Labor Day weekend right before the season, meaning Hill and Cody Barton needed to be the starters in Week 1. Hill has been a starter ever since and has played a lot of ball.

His debut against the Jets set the tone: 16 total tackles and two passes defensed, making him the first player with such a stat line in a Week 1 game since at least 2000. He’s been impressive since then, posting a team-high 10 stops against the Eagles in Week 2 and eight more tackles against the Giants last week.

That’s 34 total tackles through three games, the second-highest total by a Titans player through three games in a season since 2000. The player who tops him there is linebacker Akiem Ayers, who claimed that mark with 37 total tackles in 2012. Since 2000, only Shaq Leonard amassed more tackles (41) through a player’s first three career games. To put it simply, Hill is in rare air.

The Titans who have won this award before him tell the whole story

When you look at Titans who have won the NFL Rookie of the Month award, Hill is keeping really nice company.

The last to do it was wide receiver AJ Brown, who won Offensive Rookie of the Month for December in 2019. Before him, quarterback Marcus Mariota won Offensive Rookie of the Month for September in 2015, his rookie year. He started hot. Running back Chris Johnson won it in September of 2008. Defensive end Jevon Kearse, the Freak, won the award three different times in 1999, in September, November, and December (that is laugh-out-loud ridiculous). And then running back Eddie George won it in September of 1996.

Fantastic company to be keeping!

The trade-up cost is starting to look a lot more palatable

Hill was the Titans’ second-round pick this past spring, one that Tennessee traded up for. That move up into the second round kind of forfeited them making any pick until later on Day 3, opening up a big gap in the draft that was concerning at the time.

But if the returns are going to look like Anthony Hill, then it makes that move a lot more palatable. Three games into his career, he’s already making history and earning league-wide recognition. It’s a great start to a promising rookie campaign, and in a season where wins have been hard to come by, Hill is giving Titans fans a reason to believe in what’s being built.