Tyreek Hill’s potential early return is a gift for the Chiefs

If Tyreek Hill is indeed only going to miss a month or less, the Kansas City Chiefs should be quite thankful for the on-field results.

There was a solid stretch of time this spring when the offensive firepower of the Kansas City Chiefs was called into question.

Brett Veach was only a couple months off of making the decision to release star running back Kareem Hunt, and the Chiefs looked like they could be missing Tyreek Hill in the same manner. If the wide receiver wasn’t released, rumors of a long suspension circulated and made it impossible to picture the Chiefs putting on the same kind of offensive displays as they did during Patrick Mahomes first season as a starting quarterback.

Several weeks later, Veach and company have watched a different storyline play out than the one expected—one that not only keeps Hill gainfully employed by the Chiefs but brings him back faster than ever. Per the latest reports, Hill might even be able to join the team after missing only four weeks or less.

If Nate Taylor’s report from The Athletic is, indeed, true, the Chiefs are going to have a lot of fun on the offensive side in 2019.

MECOLE HARDMAN

First and foremost, Mecole Hardman was brought in to be a long-term offensive complement for Patrick Mahomes. In the interim, however, he was brought in to soften the blow of losing Hill. Hardman’s electric return ability could serve as a nice substitute for the dynamism lost with Hill on the sidelines and the same could be said for his top speed and athleticism in space.

The Chiefs were reportedly pushing Hardman to extremes in offseason training activities and minicamp sessions to help him get up to speed as quickly as possible. Wide receiver is a complicated position in Andy Reid’s offense, an added layer of complexity on a position that already needs a year or two to adjust to the pro level.

Here’s the beauty of the present situation. Hardman has been pressed to be more ready-made for Week 1 than others at his position. He will even get a couple weeks in the beginning of the season to handle a bigger load against the Jacksonville Jaguars and Oakland Raiders (assuming Hill misses at least two games). From there, however, Hardman will be able to ease into a complementary role as the season goes on.

By the season’s end, Hill and Hardman should have adjusted to the presence of one another as a 1 and 1A type of downfield duo. If offenses had a helluva time keeping up with Hill’s presence on the field at any given time in 2018, wait until they have to contend with his little brother as well.

CHEMISTRY WITH PATRICK

Travis Kelce has been honest this offseason about the adjustment from Alex Smith to Patrick Mahomes. In summary, the All-Pro tight end said that learning to catch throws from Mahomes wasn’t easy because both quarterbacks are so different. The speed, the angles, the preferences, the timing—they are all different elements from one signal caller to the next.

For Hill to be able to return quickly in this season means that he can continue to build all the more on his chemistry with Mahomes. In one season, it was clear that both Kelce and Hill were able to enjoy tremendous statistical success. Given another offseason and preseason, the chemistry should be that much stronger. Hopefully the Chiefs will be operating on another level offensively (hard to imagine) by season’s end as Hardman matures, Hill gets back into game shape, and the offense clicks all together.

FREE THE BACKS

Damien Williams has been tasked with starter’s reps for the Chiefs as the lead running back. Carlos Hyde is also there, and Darrel Williams and Darwin Thompson are also vying for minutes. It’s a crowded backfield with solid potential. However, no one is expecting anyone to reach Kareem Hunt’s impact—at least not yet.

Without Hill and with Hardman just getting his sea legs, so to speak, defenses will likely key in on the backfield a bit more because the Chiefs won’t be such a threat to expand the field in every direction. Coordinators will respect Hardman if/when he gives them good reason, but I would expect the Jaguars to make sure the Chiefs running game is stalled in Week 1 until they are forced to adjust.

That means the presence of Hill early on in the season will make life much easier for the running backs, who will love the attention Hill requires deep in the secondary on a regular basis. With Hill, Williams and company will have a bit more room to run, and in the NFL, those few extra milliseconds are all that’s needed to break a play wide open.