On March 23rd, 2022, the Miami Dolphins told the football world at large that they were serious about pursuing a Super Bowl title under new head coach Mike McDaniel when they traded for superstar Wide Receiver Tyreek Hill.
The blockbuster trade would see the Dolphins send a first, second, and fourth-round pick in 2022 and a fourth and sixth-round pick in 2023 to Hill, who was coming off of a back-to-back 1200-yard season with the Kansas City Chiefs. The trade immediately created one of the best wide-receiving duos in the league, with Jaylen Waddle paired with Hill, and provided a big-time weapon for quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
The change on the field was immediate as the Dolphins went from the 18th most passing yards in 2021 to the 4th most in 2022. Hill, for his part, had 119 receptions for 1,710 yards and seven touchdowns. He quickly became Tua’s favorite target, and that success continued into the next season.
In 2023, Hill openly pursued the NFL record for receiving yards in a season, a mark set by legendary Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson with 1,964 during the 2012 season. Ultimately, Hill would fall short of this goal, managing 1,799 yards on 119 receptions and scoring 13 times. That yard total, while not the most ever, was still good for 7th most in a single season. For his efforts, he was rewarded by being named number 1 on the NFL’s top 100 players, a list voted on by fellow players and coaches.
Hill looked well-positioned to continue his dominant run heading into the 2024 season. However, on opening day, Hill was arrested on his way to the stadium, an auspicious start that would prove to be a sign of things to come. It would come out after the season that Hill was dealing with an injury to his wrist that he elected to play through rather than have season-ending surgery on.
As a result, his numbers dipped tremendously. In 17 games, he only had 81 receptions for 959 yards and six touchdowns. This was a solid season for many receivers around the league, but for a player making $30 million a year and coming off of being voted the best player in the league by his peers, it was a disappointment, to say the least.
So where does that leave the trade after 3 years? It has been a mixed bag, with moments of greatness mixed in with disappointment. From a purely statistical sense for the offense, adding Tyreek Hill to Mike McDaniel’s scheme has made the Dolphins a unit to be feared.
On a personal level, he’s reached heights he never managed with his former team despite playing with the best quarterback in the NFL, Patrick Mahomes. Hill has become a dominant force in Miami in a way he never truly was in Kansas City. From that point of view, the trade has been a success for both the team and Hill; neither could have reached their heights over the past three seasons without the other.
On the other hand, the Dolphins have achieved very little postseason success. Given that the entire point of trading for Hill was to give McDaniel and Tua an offensive weapon capable of bringing the team their first Lombardi trophy in over 50 years, having only two wildcard playoff losses to show for it is disappointing.
Granted, that doesn’t fall on Hill directly. There were extenuating injury circumstances that left the Dolphins starting Skylar Thompson against Buffalo during the 2022 playoffs, and then they were pulling pass rushers off of the couch before their 2023 playoff game against Kansas City.
Still, it’s been noted that in big games, Hill struggles to produce in the same way that he does against lesser competition.
This criticism can be repeated for the team at large, but when you’re the star, you get the spotlight. Last season could generally be overlooked due to Tua missing so much time due to injury, if not for the final game of the season. With the playoffs out of reach due to the Denver Broncos blowing out the Kansas City Chiefs’ backups, Hill pulled himself from the Dolphins’ game against the Jets. Then, when asked if he wanted to stay with the team after they missed the playoffs, Hill indicated that he would do what was best for himself and that he was done playing with the Dolphins.
It was an eye-opening moment, one that painted Hill as selfish and disillusioned many fans of the wide receiver. While Hill and his agent have worked to smooth things over since the season ended, reaffirming their commitment to the team, that hasn’t stopped speculation surrounding a potential trade. As I’m writing this blog I’m worried that a trade will be announced, and I’ll have written 800-plus words for nothing. So, to conclude, the Tyreek Hill trade has been a success statistically on the field but a disappointment when you factor in the lack of playoff wins and the off-the-field drama that Hill himself created.
