On Wednesday, the Kansas City Chiefs shocked many observers by trading star wide receiver Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins for five draft picks.
End of an era ✌🏿!!! Miami I’m coming home pic.twitter.com/ykcZcSuy7N
— Ty Hill (@cheetah) March 23, 2022
Apparently, the impetus for the trade was that negotiations between Hill and the Chiefs on a new contract broke down, and the two sides were just too far apart.
Still, one has to wonder what Hill’s intention is, given that he is leaving a team that had one of the National Football League’s best collections of talent over the last three years.
Kansas City won Super Bowl LIV and made it back to the big game the following year, only to be humbled by Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Hill was a huge part of the Chiefs’ success.
He has been named to the Pro Bowl in each of his six NFL seasons and the All-Pro First-Team in three of those years, and he is one of the league’s speediest receivers.
Could it be that he wanted to prove that he, and not quarterback Patrick Mahomes, was the biggest part of what the Chiefs accomplished?
Could he possibly be trying to prove that it was he who made Mahomes into what he is?
Certainly An Elite Talent
The Chiefs took Hill in the fifth round of the 2016 NFL Draft.
At the time he was on probation after pleading guilty to domestic abuse, which certainly made him a less attractive prospect than he would’ve been otherwise.
After a quiet rookie season (he still made the Pro Bowl and All-Pro First-Team thanks to his excellence as a punt and kick returner), he broke out in 2017 with 1,183 receiving yards and seven receiving touchdowns.
At the time, Mahomes was a rookie, while veteran Alex Smith was starting under center.
After the season concluded, Smith was traded to Washington to allow Mahomes to start.
It paid off, as he led the league in touchdown passes and was named NFL MVP.
How much of a role did Hill play in Mahomes becoming the league’s newest beastly QB?
The Georgia native put up 1,479 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2018, and he certainly helped Kansas City’s new starting signal-caller develop his confidence.
Having a wideout like him who is nicknamed “Cheetah” because of his blazing speed helps a QB feel more comfortable throwing long passes downfield.
There aren’t many other wideouts currently in the NFL who can do what Hill does as well as he does them.
Hill Can Now Help A New QB Enter The Elite Class
In Miami, the 28-year-old Hill joins a team that is young and knocking on the door of being a true playoff contender.
After starting 1-7, the Dolphins won seven games in a row and eight of their last nine this past season, but they ultimately missed the playoffs by a narrow margin.
In Tua Tagovailoa, they possess a QB who is entering his third season and has shown flashes of promise but hasn’t come close to putting it all together yet.
His numbers last season were underwhelming for the fifth overall pick in the NFL draft: 2,653 passing yards, 16 touchdowns and a 90.1 passer rating.
Plenty of people on Twitter feel that he won’t be able to make the most of Hill’s talents.
Tua Tagovailoa to Tyreek Hill pic.twitter.com/Weoi1vM0Yb
— BetMGM 🦁 (@BetMGM) March 23, 2022
Hot take: Baker Mayfield would be a better QB for the Miami Dolphins than Tua Tagovailoa is. pic.twitter.com/ZiJfbsbHlG
— Nick Karns (@karnsies817) March 23, 2022
Tua constantly underthrowing the fastest WR duo in NFL history every week will be special.
— Colb (@___Colb___) March 23, 2022
On the other hand, there is some evidence that the Tagovailoa-Hill duo could be successful.
Passes thrown 20+ Yards Downfield since 2020
Tyreek Hill: 10 Rec TD, most in NFL
Tua Tagovailoa: 44.3% Comp pct, 3rd best in NFL pic.twitter.com/5l8cEyaVGr— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) March 23, 2022
With Mike McDaniel, who is a protégé of Mike and Kyle Shanahan, now the head coach in Miami, Hill has a chance to prove that he is much more than a product of Mahomes’ insane talent.
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