3 reasons why Tyreek Hill was right about leaving Chiefs and becoming Dolphins’ main man under Mike McDaniel
Tyreek Hill was involved in one of the major trades during the previous offseason as the star wide receiver was shipped out from the Kansas City Chiefs to the Miami Dolphins. This ended a productive partnership with Patrick Mahomes that netted a Super Bowl and four straight AFC Championship Game appearances for the franchise.
Since joining the Miami Dolphins, Hill has cemented his place among the best wide receivers in the NFL even more. He has the second-most receiving yards in 2022, trailing only Minnesota Vikings superstar Justin Jefferson. He also has 112.3 yards per game, the first time that he's amassed over 100 yards per game in his career.
Although he was criticized for leaving Kansas City during the offseason, time is proving that Hill was right by moving to greener pastures, and we've listed three reasons why.
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3 reasons why Tyreek Hill was right for going to the Miami Dolphins
#1 - Partnership with Jaylen Waddle
When Tyreek Hill decided to move to Miami, he quickly forged a strong duo with fellow wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, who entered his second season in 2022 and broke the 1,000-yard receiving mark as a rookie. Both players have already reached the same milestone in 2022 in just 13 games.
Tyreek Hill just had the craziest play ever! #Dolphins #MIAvsLAC https://t.co/dsDkbQbqtf
Hill never had a receiver of Waddle's level to play alongside him in Kansas City. Even though the Chiefs had Sammy Watkins on the roster when they won the Super Bowl, Watkins struggled to remain healthy for most of his career. With Waddle sharing the defense's attention, Hill has been more productive than ever.
#2 - Higher usage on the offense
It might sound ironic, but it's Waddle's presence that has benefited Hill in the way he wants to be used. He has 7.7 receptions per game in 2022, more than he ever had with the Chiefs, and he has also seen a lesser share of double coverage.
Mike McDaniel's offensive style presents a ton of opportunities for Hill to explore opposing defenses vertically - and also to get a lot of yards after the catch. Many of Tyreek Hill's career stats are set to be broken when the regular season ends.
#3 - Chance to prove himself without Mahomes
We all know how some star wide receivers are egocentric, and Tyreek Hill has proven himself no different, especially during some podcast appearances since leaving the Chiefs. After four years of playing with Patrick Mahomes, the master of the deep ball, leaving Kansas City allowed him to prove that he's not a product of Andy Reid's offense.
Tua Tagovailoa might not be the greatest deep passer in the NFL, but he's a really accurate quarterback. Hill has benefited from that, and they're one of the best QB-WR duos of 2022.
Reporting from LA with the Dolphins — Tyreek Hill’s message to Tua Tagovailoa after a “reality check” loss to the 49ers last week https://t.co/Hj5WzIOiic
Tyreek Hill's career stats
Money and contract negotiations were the main reasons for the trade, but Hill also wasn't happy with his usage over the 2021 season, when his numbers suffered a dropoff. He wanted to be the main deep threat for the offense, but his yards per target dropped from 9.5 in 2020 to 7.8 in 2021; his yards per reception were only 11.2, his lowest number since his rookie year.
This is the fifth time in seven years of his career that Hill has surpassed the 1,000-yard mark. He failed to reach the milestone in his rookie year, and in 2019, when he suffered an injury during the regular season and missed four games, but won the Super Bowl at the end of the season.
Hill has over 8,000 receiving yards and 62 touchdowns during his NFL career.