Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill has had a fantastic season, and head coach Mike McDaniel is reminding everyone of that when people want to try and discuss Hill’s flaws.
Hill dropped what would have been an early touchdown catch in the Dolphins’ Week 17 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, and this past Sunday, he dropped a pass that could have gone for a long touchdown and would have set up the game-tying extra point in Miami’s crucial loss to the Buffalo Bills.
Make no mistake: Hill had a dominant season, leading the NFL in both receiving yards (1,799) and receiving touchdowns (13) to go along with 119 receptions. However, Hill dropped 11 passes, which ranked second in the league.
Still, McDaniel is not at all concerned with Hill’s miscues and said that his drops are also a product of the amount of times he has been targeted.
“I think when you are a player of his caliber that our team depends on so much, that can be a little misleading in terms of he gets a ton of targets and when we go to him in high-stake situations, it’s not like he is just gliding in open field,” McDaniel said, via Bobby Kownack of NFL.com. “They’re pretty contested. And he’s proven time and time again why we continue to go to him. There are zero people, including myself, that are concerned about a pattern of whatever. He has a high expectation to literally make every play. And in that process, there’s no such thing as a 100 percent shooter.”
McDaniel is right. Stats don’t always tell the full story, just like how it unfortunately counts as an interception when a quarterback throws a perfectly placed ball that bounces off a receiver’s hands and into the arms of a defender.
Plus, as McDaniel said: when you are as phenomenal of a player as Hill, those drops don’t look so bad. Essentially, you live with them.
Now, if Hill is dropping big passes when the Dolphins battle the Kansas City Chiefs in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs this Saturday, that’s another story.
But for now, let’s just appreciate how much of a human highlight reel Tyreek Hill has been this season.
Want the latest NFL analysis, breaking news, and insider information? Click here. Interested in reading storylines and analysis about the NBA? Check out our partner NBA Analysis Network.
