After speeding past the Washington Commander’s secondary in the week 13 win, Miami Dolphin’s star wide receiver Tyreek Hill is closer to the first ever 2,000 yard receiving season in NFL history. As he has done to most defenses this year, he torched Washington’s with ease. He beat safety Quan Martin for a season long 78-yard touchdown on Miami’s opening drive. Early in the second quarter, Hill burned his former Kansas City teammate Kendall Fuller on another deep route for a 60-yard touchdown to break open the game. Overall, the former fifth round selection caught five passes for 157 yards and those two touchdowns, stats that were accumulated through just three quarters of play. The Dolphins led by 23 points entering the fourth quarter, allowing the starters to rest.
Hill’s explosive play ability is nothing new to NFL viewers. His first six seasons saw him catch many deep passes from Kansas City quarterbacks Alex Smith and Patrick Mahomes, forming a top connection with the latter. Late in Super Bowl LIV, Mahomes and Hill connected on a deep shot, a critical play to the Chief’s victory that year. In addition, in the course of his entire career, the receiver has topped the century mark in receiving six times out of eight possible chances.
Nicknamed “The Cheetah”, Hill possesses arguably the league’s top speed and acceleration. On a 64-yard touchdown earlier in the season against the New York Giants, Hill reached 22.01 mph while holding the football. That is the second fastest time in the league this year after Seattle’s D.K. Metcalf ran faster. Overall, he has three of the top six ball carrier speeds and five out of the top twenty league wide. However, Hill’s speed with the ball is not even his top speed. During his route running is where he runs the fastest as he gains separation from the defense. Most of his touchdowns see him almost jogging to the endzone and taunting defenders due to how badly he burned them on the play. It is almost impossible to contain him with a man-to-man defensive scheme.
Apart from speed playing a major factor in Hill’s success, he has also had stability at the quarterback position. After the reliable Alex Smith threw passes to the speedster for two seasons, Patrick Mahomes stepped in for Kansas City. All he’s done since is become the NFL’s most elite player and the next Tom Brady. The quarterback/wide receiver duo worked in tandem for four seasons which included a Super Bowl win and four AFC Championship game appearances. Since his trade to the Dolphins prior to the 2022 season, Hill has been paired with former Alabama standout Tua Tagovailoa. While Tagovailoa is no Mahomes, he has still become a rising quarterback in the league, showing he is capable of being elite.
The Miami offense has proven to be an even greater boost to Hill’s production due in part to the genius mind of head coach Mike McDaniel. Brought in from San Fransisco before the 2022 season, McDaniel has built the NFL’s best offensive scheme. To help get Hill open and in space, McDaniel player motion before the snap, allowing the speedster to get a running head start. Often, Hill will be crouched at the end of the offensive line like a tight end before being sent in motion right before the snap, causing confusion and panic for the opposition.
Through twelve games played this year, Hill has 93 receptions for a league best 1,481 yards. He is only 519 yards away from 2,000 yards, which would surpass the single season record of 1,964 set by Hall of Fame wide receiver Calvin Johnson in 2012. Johnson, however, accomplished this feat over the course of a sixteen game NFL season. Hill has the chance to play in seventeen games due to the NFL adding an extra game before the 2021 season. In the inaugural expanded season, Cooper Kupp of the Los Angeles Rams almost broke Johnson’s record as he tallied 1,947 yards. While Kupp could not quite reach the mark, Hill is in position to surpass it over the final five games.
Something that sets the Miami star apart from Johnson and Kupp is how Hill’s production is so high despite being part of a stacked offense. Johnson and Kupp were the only playmakers for their respective teams during their historic seasons. Hill, meanwhile, is accompanied by other stars such as Jaylen Waddle and Raheem Mostert. Miami’s offense is by far the league’s best and is also one of the best historically. Therefore, the added room for other consistent playmakers is expected. One can only imagine Hill’s stat line on an offense built solely around him.
