(Photo: PFF)
4. Tyreek Hill: It seems like this just started. Now, four players remain. We truly do live in an offensively driven league. Also, Quarterbacks aren’t the only ones who impact the game. Look at Travis Kelce in Kansas City and Justin Jefferson in Minnesota. Not only are both of them playmakers, but they’re also game-changers as well. The same can be said about a particular receiver who plays for the Miami Dolphins. Tyreek Hill is back for the second consecutive year. He claims the number four spot and is my top-ranked receiver entering the 2024 NFL season.
He has been doing this at the highest level for years now and continues to get better. I think people expected him to fall off after being traded away from the Kansas City Chiefs and we all remember how great he was with Mahomes and company. Tyreek has proven that it doesn’t matter the Quarterback, he’ll still put up the big numbers. He has a way of winning his one-on-ones such as jogging off the line of scrimmage and then turning on the accelerators, then he’s wide open. He’s earned every right to be known as “Cheetah” as he is the fastest player in the league and I can’t even think of someone who’d be a close second. His ability to run his routes is so underrated and I think it flies under the radar because of how quick he is. Tyreek runs the route tree so consistently and can beat a secondary with the underneath routes or the deep routes. No matter the route, down, or yardage placement of the ball, this is a potential home run threat that can go the distance. As a defender, I wouldn’t be worried about not pressing him or trying to jam him. I’d be worried about NOT getting hands on him and just letting him run which can cost you. Tyreek was so misunderstood at one point because many thought he was just a speed guy, but he’s far from just that. He truly understands this game and knows how to make plays. He has great hands and rarely drops passes. I look back at his first game of the 2023 season against the Los Angeles Chargers. He took over and didn’t look back. The Chargers wanted to play Tyreek man-to-man and he made them pay for it. Tua Tagovailoa hit him in stride each time he got him the football. He finished that game with 15 receptions and 215 yards receiving.
Last year may have been the best I’ve ever seen him look and I’ve been watching him for years. Tyreek finished last season tied for second with 119 receptions and 13 receiving touchdowns which had him tied for first. With the pace he was on at one point, I thought he was going to break Calvin Johnson’s single-season receiving record for yards in a season. He finished with 1,799 yards which was the most in the league. He’s the igniter that makes this Dolphins offense go.
