Tyreek To Miami: One Year On, A Win-Win Trade
By Andy Davies
A year ago today, Tyreek Hill was traded to the Miami Dolphins.
In exchange for five draft picks, Hill was sent to the Dolphins in a blockbuster trade. And twelve months on from this trade it appears that it has worked out for both parties.
Instant Success In Miami: Best Dolphins Receiver of 21st Century?
Miami have been starved of good wide receivers since the turn of the 21st century. Prior to Hill’s arrival, only six Dolphins players had 1,000 yards or more in a single season. One of these six is Jaylen Waddle, who arrived a year before Tyreek. With these two, the Dolphins now have one of the league’s most dynamic receiving duos.
Waddle did excellently without Hill in 2021, recording 1,015 yards as well as breaking the rookie reception record. But together, he was even better. With Hill alongside, he recorded 1,356 yards in 2022, the third highest single season total in Dolphins history. In the same season, Hill recorded 1,710, making this the highest total in franchise history for a single season.
Provided Tua can stay healthy, this will make for one of the best trios in the NFL. We have all seen what he can do when on the field and 100%. Dolphins fans should be very excited about 2023 with Waddle and Hill as their wide receivers. This is exactly what the front office envisaged when they gave away all those picks for Hill in the 2022 offseason.
Whilst the Dolphins could have gone out and acquired a top receiver in the draft, none of them had as many yards as Tyreek did in 2022. Only Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson (1,809) had more, which makes it worth the trade and $120 million extension.
Chiefs Change, But Still Succeed
When the Chiefs traded away Hill, it was seen by many that the Chiefs would take a downturn in form in 2022 without him. Instead, they went on to win Super Bowl 57.
With the 29th overall pick they acquired from Miami, they traded it to the New England Patriots along with a third-round and fourth-round selection in exchange for the 21st overall pick. With that selection, they took Trent McDuffie. It is yet to be seen long term as to whether McDuffie becomes a star, but it is not the picks they acquired that won them the Super Bowl.
When Patrick Mahomes won his first Super Bowl during the 2019 season, the gameplan was clear; get the ball to Travis Kelce and Tyreek. Whilst this worked for many years, they started to get found out in the 2021 season. Teams started to realise that if you stop Kelce and Hill, you stop the Chiefs. Whilst they still reached the AFC Championship game, albeit one they collapsed in, it was clear to see that something needed to change.
What the Hill trade did for the Chiefs offense was to allow a much more balanced unit. Despite losing the fastest player in the league, the Chiefs almost look better without him. It is now much harder for NFL defenses to gameplan against the Chiefs as you simply do not know who is going to be targeted.
Aside from the obvious target in Kelce, you were unsure if Mahomes was going to throw to Mecole Hardman, Juju Smith-Schuster, Skyy Moore, Isiah Pacheco, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, or Kadarius Toney. After all, Moore and Pacheco both caught touchdown passes in the Super Bowl along with Kelce – and Toney had one of the biggest plays of the game, which now stands as the record for the longest punt return in Super Bowl history. Valdes-Scantling also came up big in the AFC title game, with one touchdown and 116 receiving yards.
Mahomes has a plethora of talent to throw to moving forward, and the Dolphins have arguably their greatest receiver tandem in history. With Hill alongside Waddle, the team looks to be a contender for the Super Bowl in 2023. This is the perfect example of a trade that has worked out for everyone involved.
ANDY DAVIES
NFL ANALYST
A current Sports Journalism masters student, Andy has been writing NFL articles since January 2020. Originally from Wales, Andy also writes for pro football mania and dolphins talk, as well as appearing on podcasts and videos for euro tripz. find him on twitter @andydaviessport.