Tyreek Hill is setting Tua Tagovailoa up for failure with comments

Current Miami Dolphin and former Kansas City Chief wide receiver Tyreek Hill has been very active in the media praising his new quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa. Hill may be going too far and is setting Tua up for failure as we get closer to the 2022 NFL season. 

Tyreek Hill was traded to the Miami Dolphins this offseason after a successful run with the Kansas City Chiefs resulting in a Super Bowl win in 2019.

Hill met a lot of skepticism from his former fans who believed his play and overall production would decline switching from quarterback Patrick Mahomes to Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.

For some background information Tagovailoa is entering his third season in the NFL and in 2021 his statistics placed him in the bottom half of all QBs for passing yards, touchdowns, and his QBR rating.

Tagovailoa also has a history of injuries and has yet to play a full season.

As a good teammate and aspiring podcaster, Hill has taken to social media and his new podcast “It Needed To Be Said” to generate some conversation about his new quarterback.

Hill did not take long to stir the masses and in his first episode he declared that Tua Tagovailoa was more accurate than Patrick Mahomes;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DykAZ_m0FYM

As if going on social media and his own podcast was not enough Tyreek Hill decided to double down on his comments and appear on the popular ESPN show “First Take” and reiterate his statements.

Hill described Tagovaila as “not your typical gunslinger” and that Tagovailoa’s game is “spot on, pinpoint” and that his “fundamentals are on point.” See the full interview below;

What is startling about this media frenzy, on top of having Tagovailoa on his show as well, is that Hill is placing a tremendous amount of pressure on Tagovailoa’s shoulders. When it comes down to it Hill’s statements just are not true.

In 2021, Mahomes had a 78.3% adjusted completion percentage (second-best in the NFL) compared to Tagovailoa’s 75.3% (18th in the NFL).

The former league MVP also edged the Dolphins quarterback in 2020 with 77.2% compared to Tagovailoa’s 74.2%. Even if you remove the accuracy portion of the narrative Mahomes is just overall a better quarterback and a Super Bowl champion.

Tagovailoa has not even played in a playoff game and struggles with throws beyond 20 yards. Mahomes on the other hand thrives playing “street ball” and launching the ball down the field for deep completions and touchdowns.

When the 2022 NFL season begins everyone will be analyzing and overanalyzing every throw Tagovailoa makes or more so every throw Tagovailoa misses or turns into an interception.

Additionally, fans will be watching Hill’s production on the field to see if he indeed is as successful in Miami as he was in Kansas City.

Tagovailoa will not only feel the pressure to show that Hill was not exaggerating in his claims but will also feel pressure to keep his new star receiver happy.

Hill may be happy with his numbers for his new podcast and all the attention he has garnered with his drastic opinions for now.

But Hill won’t be happy if Tagovailoa cannot fulfill all the expectations Hill has inadvertently created. Based on Tagovailoa’s performances in 2020 and 2021 he does not thrive under pressure and likely won’t in 2022 as the pressure has never been higher.

Hill has indeed set his new quarterback up for failure, not success.