Peyton Hillis Peyton Hillis ( born January 21 , 1986 ) is an American professional football running back who is currently a free agent . Hillis attended Conway High School in Conway , Arkansas and was a highly touted recruit . Hillis chose to attend the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville , Arkansas where he was primarily used as a fullback . After being drafted in the 7th round of the 2008 NFL Draft , Hillis rose to the top of the depth chart as the starting fullback for the Denver Broncos . Due to injuries to the running back corps , he was ushered to the starting running back position . After spending two years in Denver , Hillis was traded to the Cleveland Browns in 2010 . In 2011 , Hillis won a nationwide vote which put him on the cover of EA Sports ' " Madden NFL 12 " . College career . Peyton attended college at the University of Arkansas from 2004 – 2008 , majoring in Sociology . As a true freshman , Hillis gained 240 yards rushing , 97 yards receiving , and scored 8 touchdowns , ranking 4th in the SEC in total touchdowns and tying Georgia ' s Thomas Brown for most touchdowns scored by a SEC freshman that year . During his sophomore year , Hillis accounted for 947 all - purpose yards ( including more than 200 in kick - off and punt returns ) and seven touchdowns while also serving as a blocker for up - and - coming star running backs Darren McFadden and Felix Jones . Professional career . 2008 NFL Draft . Hillis was selected by the Denver Broncos with the 20th pick in the seventh round ( 227th overall ) of the 2008 NFL Draft . Denver Broncos . At the start of the 2008 season , Hillis was listed as the Broncos ' starting fullback . He played in his first NFL regular season game on September 8 , 2008 , gaining 14 yards on three rushing attempts and four yards on one reception as part of a 41 – 14 Broncos road victory over the Oakland Raiders . Later in the season , he recorded his first career 100 - yard receiving game with seven catches for 116 yards and a touchdown in a 26 – 17 Broncos home loss to the Miami Dolphins on November 2 , 2008 . Following an injury to Ryan Torain in the Broncos 34 – 30 comeback road victory over the Cleveland Browns , Hillis was named Denver ' s starting running back . His first start at the position netted him 44 yards and two touchdowns on only 10 carries as part of a 24 – 20 road victory over the Atlanta Falcons . Two weeks later , he recorded his first 100 - yard rushing game with 129 yards and a touchdown on 22 attempts in a 34 – 17 road victory over the New York Jets . The performance earned Hillis multiple honors including being named Diet Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week as well as FedEx Ground Player of the Week alongside Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler , who was named NFL Air Player of the Week . The string of victories and accolades built up anticipation among Broncos faithful for Hillis to continue as running back for the rest of the season . However , the season already plagued with running back injuries continued , with Hillis suffering a season - ending injury in a 24 – 17 home win over the Kansas City Chiefs . Coming down from an acrobatic catch of a Cutler pass with his right foot planted , Hillis was hit from both sides by Chiefs ' free safety Jarrad Page and cornerback Brandon Carr . The hit doubled Hillis over , causing a 2 – 3 inch tear in his right hamstring behind the knee , which forced him to miss the rest of the season . Despite his limited playing time , Hillis ended the 2008 season as the Broncos ' leading rusher with 343 yards and 5 touchdowns and was expected to return as a significant offensive presence for the 2009 season . With the loss of Hillis , depth at the running back position was practically nil and the Broncos fell to 8 – 8 on the season and failed to make the play - offs . Due to a lack of post - season berths in recent years , Broncos Coach Mike Shanahan was fired during the off - season and replaced with Josh McDaniels . McDaniels ' first order of business was to recruit new talent to fit his playing scheme , which involved adding depth to the running back position with first round draft pick Knowshon Moreno and free agent Correll Buckhalter . Despite rising to the starting fullback position and becoming the leading rusher the previous year , Hillis had only 54 yards on 13 carries in the 2009 season . As the Broncos offense collapsed late - season and Hillis still saw no significant playtime , fans began speculating about a disagreement between Hillis and McDaniels as had been the case with other Shanahan carry - overs . Racial discrimination has also been mentioned as a potential cause as Hillis is one of a very limited number of white running backs in the NFL . In a post - season interview , Hillis expressed disappointment over his playing time on the season , but remained tight - lipped about the controversy , maintaining that conversations between him and McDaniels were " friendly " . In the same interview , Hillis was quoted as saying his future in Denver was " up in the air " . On March 14 , 2010 , the Broncos traded Hillis to the Cleveland Browns along with a sixth - round pick in the 2011 Draft and a conditional pick in the 2012 Draft in exchange for quarterback Brady Quinn . Cleveland Browns . Hillis ' arrival in Cleveland was met with anticipation after the results of his active stint in Denver during the 2008 season . During the 2010 preseason , the Browns distributed snaps evenly between Hillis , Jerome Harrison , James Davis , Chris Jennings , and Montario Hardesty ( upon returning from injury ) . Hillis ' best pre - season rushing game came in Week 2 against the Rams when , getting the majority of the snaps , Hillis ran for 51 yards on 12 carries ( 4 . 3 ypc ) . As the regular season began , Hillis ' start in Cleveland began much the same way as it did in Denver , listed down the depth chart at both tight end and fullback . Also like his start in Denver , early season injuries to Harrison and Davis thrust Hillis into the starting spot for the Week 3 game versus the Baltimore Ravens . The result was a 144 yard ( 6 . 5 ypc ) romp against the Ravens ' staunch rushing defense , which allowed just 3 . 4 yards per carry in the 2009 season . Hillis also added 36 yards on 7 receptions for a total of 180 all - purpose yards . The next week , Hillis again ran for over 100 yards at home against the Cincinnati Bengals , leading the Browns to their first victory in the 2010 regular season . A thigh injury in practice limited Hillis in Week 5 against the Atlanta Falcons , though Hillis did add a 19 - yard reception for a touchdown , making him the first Browns player since Greg Pruitt to record touchdowns in five consecutive games , though Pruitt ' s came all through rushing . Coming off a bye week in Week 8 , Hillis set career marks in both rushing and all - purpose yards against the New England Patriots in Week 9 , finishing the game with 184 rushing yards ( 6 . 5 ypc ) and 220 yards of total offense . Following this game , Hillis was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week for Week 9 , the first Cleveland Browns running back to win that honor since Eric Metcalf in 1992 . In week 12 , Hillis joined Marshall Faulk as the only players to have achieved more than 130 yards rushing , 3 rushing touchdowns , and 60 yards receiving in a single game . On December 12 , 2010 , Peyton Hillis went over the 1 , 000 yard mark on an 8 yard rush , that was preceded by a 25 yard rush . He became the first white running back since Craig James to rush for 1 , 000 yards in a single season . Due to his breakout season , Peyton Hillis was the Browns finalist in the " Madden NFL 12 " cover vote . After upsetting Ray Rice , Matt Ryan , and Super Bowl MVP Aaron Rodgers , he advanced to the finals where he faced off against Michael Vick . On April 27 , 2011 , Hillis was announced as the cover athlete for the game , beating out Vick with 66 percent of the vote . Kansas City Chiefs . On March 14 , 2012 , Hillis signed with the Kansas City Chiefs . Professional statistics . " Accurate as of March 17 , 2012 " Personal life . Hillis endorsed Ron Paul during the 2012 presidential election .