Sep 10, 2023; Inglewood, California, USA; Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill (10) catches a 35-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter against the Miami Dolphins at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Is Tyreek Hill the scariest player in the NFL today?
Once again the spotlight is on Tyreek Hill for all the right reasons after his electrifying performance for the Miami Dolphins in Week 1 against the LA Chargers.
Hill went off in the Dolphins’ 36-34 victory at the SoFi stadium against the Chargers, scoring two touchdowns and racking up 215 receiving yards from 11 receptions. It’s not to anybody’s surprise that the wide receiver’s catches ranked first and second among the fastest ball carriers – with respective speeds of 21.66 mph on his 47-yard reception and 21.52 mph for his 35-yard touchdown, it is no wonder why he is widely known as “The Cheetah”.
It was a spectacular first week of the season for Hill, and his 215 receiving yards means that it’s the third time in his career that he’s had over 200+ receiving yards in a game.
The cheetah is seemingly unguardable, whether he plays in the slot or wide. As a slot receiver, he is the league’s best thus far, with five receptions on six targets for 104 yards. When lining up wide he is the second-best with six receptions on nine targets for 111 yards and two touchdowns.
His speed is unmatchable throughout the National Football League, so it does seem obvious that Hill would excel against zone coverage. Hill claimed the top spot when facing zone coverage, but he landed at the 10th position against man coverage last season, graded 86.2 by PFF. This discrepancy likely arises from opponents preferring to employ zone defense against the electrifying combination of Hill and Jaylen Waddle.
Throughout the last season, Hill was targeted a total of 181 times, with just 31 of those passes thrown against man-to-man coverage. Nonetheless, Hill made the most of these opportunities, converting 13 first downs on 20 receptions for a total of 232 yards and two touchdowns. His impressive tally of 81 total first downs was second only to Justin Jefferson, as they were the only two wide receivers to consistently move the chains 80 or more times in 2022.
Miami Dolphins face back-to-back road games as they travel to New England in week two. Last season, Tyreek Hill was scoreless against the Patriots and he tallied a more modest 149 receiving yards across the two games. In spite of that, the Phins won both match-ups.
Will the cheetah draw yet another blank against Bill Bilechick’s Pats on Sunday Night Football, or will he put on another electric display like what he did in week one on the road at SoFi?
