Got this from SB Nation. Didn't know if you could view the link so I posted the entire story. Interesting perspective.\
What do the Miami Dolphins do with Tyreek Hill
Story by Nick Sabatino
• 23h • 4 min read
What do the Miami Dolphins do with Tyreek Hill© Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images
This question would have been unfathomable a few years ago, but times have changed, and
Tyreek Hill’s future with the
Miami Dolphins feels uncertain. The
Dolphins offense is a high-powered puzzle, but its missing piece isn’t one that’s not fitting, it’s just not there altogether.
The offense has gone through its seasons of early explosive success, getting found out toward the middle of the season, the adjustment period, and then falling off at the end of the season when the going gets tough and the weather gets cold.
The last three years feel like when a band’s last three albums all sound the same, and you’re waiting for them to transition to the next level, but it just won’t happen. The Dolphins haven’t hit that next level, and Hill is at the heart of the issue.
From what I’ve seen on social media, fans have caught on to Hill’s lack of rising to the occasion as a WR1 when the Dolphins play the best teams. That fact alone made me want to write about this, and it can’t be overstated. It’s not an indictment on Hill’s overall ability because he is one of the most productive and explosive players in the league, but he could be the one to go.
It Doesn’t Take Two
When the Dolphins shaped their offense almost three years ago, it was coined as the “
Legion of Zoom” due to how fast guys like Hill,
Jaylen Waddle, and
Raheem Mostert were. Last year, they added
De’Von Achane to the mix and took
Zoom to the net level. The only problem is that speed slows down when the road is slippery or stalls out when the temperature drops. There has to be another strength to turn to, and it’s not there.
The roster construction of the offense isn’t just a receiver problem. It’s a running back problem, but that’s a story for another day. With receivers, a small and fast build looks ideal in the summer and fall, but when “
winter is here,” it’s not a dominant strength on the field. In those cold games and big games in general, you need a big-bodied receiver you know who can make tough, contested catches and take the beating. That’s not Hill, nor is it Waddle.
That’s where I feel the problem lies. The Dolphins have two of the same type of receiver. Both Hill and Waddle are small, speed players who can create huge plays vertically, but neither is the guy to make a contested catch and take a hit. Both are great players, with Hill even being voted the number one player in the NFL by the players this year, but neither has the skillset that translates as “the guy” late in the season.
Hill has a championship with the
Kansas City Chiefs, but he was never the possession target on that team. If they needed a first down, the first option was always
Travis Kelce, and maybe the Dolphins have found that with
Jonnu Smith to a lesser degree, but when you’re making $30 million a year, you have to be “the guy” that makes “the play,” even when the defense knows the ball is going to you.
The issue isn’t Hill’s contract. It’s adding Hill’s and Waddle’s contracts together
to the tune of $58 million annually, with neither being the one that can make contested catches or even attack the ball at its highest point. Both are notorious body catchers, with Hill being the one who can’t make big catches in big games with his hands and Waddle being the one who can’t stay on the field.
Thanks For The Memories
Most of the football-viewing community understands
Tua Tagovailoa is at his best when he’s
taking what the defense gives him, no matter who ends up as the receiving target. His problems start to arise when he fully locks into Hill, as he did recently against the
Houston Texans, resulting in
three interceptions.
I could argue that Hill’s lack of strength, length, and hands had something to do with all three interceptions, whether it’s getting pushed off his route, not boxing out a corner, or just getting the ball ripped out of his hands.
We don’t even need to get into the three drops, including two touchdown drops he had against the
San Francisco 49ers, but it’s the pattern of drops in big games that has become public over the last two years.
There comes a point where you look at the money allocated to receivers, the holes in the roster, and conclude that the roster could be better without one of the two in Hill or Waddle.
Waddle is as explosive as Hill and four years younger, so that helps his case, but his inability to stay on the field hurts it.
Hill has been the more productive receiver, though notorious for big game drops. He also has too many off-the-field issues and is reaching the other side of thirty. A classic example of when a team moves on a year too early rather than a year too late.
If you trade one of them and open up nearly $30 million annually to other areas in need like the offensive line, and add a big veteran receiver like Amari Cooper, Calvin Ridley, or Chris Godwin type of build, I don’t see how it’s not an upgrade for Miami.
The Achilles heel of this Miami team is toughness. They’ve shown it at times, like Sunday against the Niners, but they’re generally pushed around when the going gets tough and that includes the receiving room. Hill and Waddle played a big part in Tagovailoa’s development, and the “
Legion of Zoom” was fun to watch, but if the Dolphins traded either the Hill or Waddle, with Hill being the more likely candidate, it could be the best outcome for this team moving forward into 2025.
