Reevaluating the Tyreek Hill Trade: KC Chiefs, Miami Dolphins Can Both Claim Victory
On March 22 of last year, the Kansas City Chiefs traded wide receiver Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins for a haul of draft picks. There was a 2022 first-round pick (No. 29), second-round pick (No. 50) and fourth-round pick involved, along with fourth- and sixth-round selections in the 2023 draft. It was a whirlwind of a day.
Seemingly, only a handful of people knew this trade was going to be a possibility. Ultimately, general manager Brett Veach decided that trading Hill rather than making him the highest-paid wide receiver in the NFL was the right move. Over the course of the first season after the trade, it proved to be just that.
Before the 2022 campaign, many in the media were skeptical that the Chiefs' offense would be able to move the ball and be successful without the threat of Hill alongside tight end Travis Kelce. Did these same folks forget who played quarterback? All Patrick Mahomes did was throw for 5,250 yards, and 41 touchdowns and lead the Chiefs to the one-seed in the AFC. In case you missed it, the season concluded with another Super Bowl title and Mahomes winning Super Bowl and NFL MVP. It needed to be said: the Chiefs didn’t miss Hill in 2022.
On the other side of things, Hill immediately made an impact on the Dolphins. He finished the season with 119 catches for 1,710 yards and nine touchdowns. The Dolphins had issues at quarterback as Tua Tagovailoa couldn’t stay healthy, but they did make it to the playoffs (albeit an early exit) despite those issues. This season, Hill has been an absolute unit. He's on pace to have the best season of any wide receiver in NFL history. He has 1,104 yards receiving through the first eight games of the season — a feat that has not been accomplished in the modern era of the NFL — and is on pace to smash Calvin Johnson’s record of 1,964 yards in a season.
Hill also has eight receiving touchdowns, so he’s topped his 2022 total halfway through the season. He’s on pace to beat his personal best of 15 scores, which he accomplished with Mahomes and the Chiefs in 2020. Not only are the individual stats impressive, but the Dolphins are currently 6-2 and sitting atop the AFC East standings. Miami has only won its division three times in the last 30 years. The last time the Dolphins did so was in 2008. This trade is working out great for them, too.
Returning to the present-day Chiefs, the offense has not looked as good this year as it did last year. JuJu Smith-Schuster is the only piece to the puzzle missing from last year’s team, but is that what has caused the Chiefs to struggle more than we are used to seeing through the first part of the season? I’m not so sure. However, the Chiefs look like they miss Hill this year much more compared to 2022. No disrespect to Justin Watson, but when he is the top wideout option on the team, things don’t seem to be according to plan offensively.
Sure, Kelce is still having a solid season despite some nagging injuries along the way. He is on pace to have another season where he will likely extend his own record streak of consecutive 1,000-yard seasons by a tight end yet again. He’s one of the most consistent players in the NFL and one of the best to ever do it at his position. Mahomes is still leading the offense and can make some incredible plays happen, but the Chiefs need some of their younger options to step up.
Interestingly enough, almost the entire defense on Kansas City’s side has turned over since Hill was last part of the Chiefs organization. There won’t be much bad blood to be had between the revamped secondary and Hill, other than wanting to step up to the challenge.
With an international game in Germany on tap for Sunday, the Chiefs and Dolphins will be on the world stage. Everyone is expecting both teams to put on a show. Will the Chiefs' defense be able to step up like it has all season and limit what Hill can do? Will the offense stop hurting itself with turnovers and stalled drives in the red zone? We’re about to find out, but it would only make sense to see Hill and Kelce have big games as they battle it out on opposite sidelines for the first time.
Would it have been fun to see Hill return to Kansas City in all of his glory as the bad guy? Yes, it would have. However, seeing this game on the international stage will be a lot of fun as well. At the end of the day, it needed to be said: This trade worked out well for both sides, and it just doesn’t happen that way very often in the NFL.
