After putting on a display for all to see, yet again, we’re left wondering what else Tyreek Hill has to do to enter the national conversation among wide receivers?
Let me ask this as pointedly as I can: what more do you—yes, you—need to see from Tyreek Hill?
What song-and-dance would show you more than he already has? Is it the early “gadget” labels that fooled you? Do you need him to focus solely on one position? Do you take away credit due to the fact that Andy Reid is so good at being creative? I’m trying to actually help you here, searching for some god-forsaken reason why you won’t include Tyreek Hill in the conversation.
Do I need to back up here? For fear of losing anyone, let me back up a few steps and ask a different question—the one that informs this whole frustrated column.
What does Tyreek Hill have to do to be mentioned among the NFL’s best wide receivers?
At this point, we’re not even asking that he be crowned the best in the league (although there’s certainly an argument to be made for that). We’re just looking for inclusion, notice, a national response that says, “This guy belongs.”
Here’s the problem. Even after putting up 3 touchdowns, returning a punt the length of the field, and racking up 169 receiving yards on the road against one of the NFL’s best secondaries in the L.A. Chargers, Hill is still not getting the mentions that he deserves.
Don’t get me wrong, Hill is definitely in the spotlight. Everyone knows he’s fast, but we knew that two years ago (or even beyond if you were a draftnik). If the subject of conversation is special teams, Tyreek Hill is a name to know. For the most part, Tyreek Hill is known as a gifted gadget player, the sort who is mentioned as the best among the Tyler Locketts, Tavon Austins, Cordarelle Pattersons of the world.
But let the conversation turn to wide receivers and Hill is noticeably absent. All of the familiar names are often thrown about, as they should, but despite stats and talent that speak (or should speak) for themselves, Hill is relegated to some sort of “other” role or category. We’re left searching for why:
- Does it work against him that he is also a returner (and the best damn returner in the business)? Does it somehow take away the spotlight from his 169 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns that he can also run back a 91-yard punt return for another score? Somehow being better than just a wide receiver throws him in a different bin of lesser players who need gimmicks to score outside of special teams.
- Does the lack of longevity work against him? Are you hesitant to crown someone with only two full years in the league as one of the best? Because that didn’t stop anyone from labeling Odell Beckham, Jr. as elite from the moment he stepped on the field.
- Is it the market, then? Maybe if Tyreek played in the Big Apple a la OBJ, he’d be featured on the front of newspapers (does that even matter) with a large headline font saying “Tyreach For the Stars” or some other corny pun, all for the sake of telling the world of his greatness. Perhaps being in Kansas City keeps him a regional hero.
- Are you concerned about his background? There’s real merit here, and for some people they will never be able to get over Hill’s own history of domestic violence. To that, I say that you have to go with your own conscience since this entire sport is the same way (e.g. “Do I watch the NFL knowing it’s a violent sport? Do I cheer for Ray Lewis knowing about those murders?”).
If any of these are a stumbling block to you, besides the last one, I think you’re living in a land of flawed logic, lame arguments or, at the very least, a lack of information. Here’s what I know.
1. Tyreek Hill is the fastest player in the NFL. I don’t want to gloss over this. In a league filled with some of the greatest athletes in the world, where men are selected and measured by their ability to run fast, Hill outshines them all. Everyone in the NFL is fast. Tyreek Hill is faster.
2. Tyreek Hill has superb instincts, burst and vision. How many players are a true threat to score any time they have the ball? Before you start to name some of the “most popular WRs,” take a second and really think that any time means even if a guy is backed up to his own end zone. Hill is that good. Are they?
Tyreek Hill now has 13 career touchdowns of at least 50 yards (six receiving, four punt-return, two rushing, one kick-return) in 32 career NFL games and is tied with Gale Sayers and Devin Hester for the most 50+ yard touchdowns in a player's first 35 career games in NFL history.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 10, 2018
3. Tyreek Hill has incredible hands. Did you see the way he grabbed multiple passes from Patrick Mahomes on Sunday against the Chargers? Mahomes put incredible zip on the ball, and Hill climbed like he’s 6’5 to grab it out of the air. The reality is that he’s always done it, for those who’ve been watching.
4. Tyreek Hill is remarkably dependable. Last year, Hill caught 75 of 105 targets, good for a 71.4 percent catch rate. For the sake of comparison, here’s the catch rate for the top five yardage leaders in 2017:
- Antonio Brown – 62%
- Julio Jones – 59.5%
- Keenan Allen – 64.2%
- DeAndre Hopkins – 55.2%
- Adam Thielen – 64.1%
What’s even more amazing is that Hill put up an even better catch rate during his rookie year (73.5%) and he caught 7 of 8 targets on Sunday. Remember those are often deep targets and Hill is hauling them in like easy screen passes out of the backfield.
Unfortunately despite all this, and even after Sunday’s showcase, Hill still isn’t receiving his due—or at least not the full spotlight that he deserves. Check out this sort of mention by Peter King in his typical Monday morning column (even if he’s not at MMQB anymore), as he’s named Special Teams Player of the Week. Read this (especially the ending):
"It took all of 1:57 for Tyreek Hill—who wreaked havoc on the Patriots in Week 1 last year—to do the same to the Chargers in California on Sunday. He took a punt—the first Chiefs’ touch of the 2018 season—at his own 9, and ran left, and kept running, and he left every Charger in his wake. The 91-yard punt return was the 12th touchdown of 50 yards or longer in his young career. He’s 24 years old.Oh. And he made it 13 of those long TDs just seven minutes later. He caught the first touchdown of Pat Mahomes’ career, a 58-yarder, midway through the first quarter."
There it is! King adds an “Oh, and…” when talking about Hill’s other touchdown. As if it doesn’t matter. Why? Because HIll has already been boxed. He’s a special teams player. Just like last year when he made the Pro Bowl as a special teams player despite putting being No. 7 among receiving yards and putting up that catch rate as we already mentioned.
The common misconceptions pigeonhole Hill as a gadget player or one who needs a gimmick sort of play or solely as a downfield threat who scores because he can get behind everyone. For those who watch him week after week, we’ve watched a true metamorphosis take place, as a fifth round pick has transformed into a player worthy of mention alongside Antonio Brown, Julio Jones, and OBJ.
To the national media, Tyreek Hill is still an “Oh, and…” player.
It’s time for the NFL to make him a household name.