Tyreek Hill's New QB Rankings Show a Major Reversal on His Tua Tagovailoa Stance

A real change from Hill's usual offseason content.
Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill warms up prior to the game against the New England Patriots.
Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill warms up prior to the game against the New England Patriots. / Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images
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Tyreek Hill has been Tua Tagovailoa's biggest cheerleader since he was traded from the Kansas City Chiefs to the Miami Dolphins in the 2022 offseason.

The Dolphins star receiver has, if anything, gone over the top in his praise of the lefty QB. Hill said Tagovailoa was more accurate than his previous quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, during that first summer in Miami. Just last summer, he stumped for Tua as an MVP candidate.

This spring is different, however. Months after sparking trade rumors with a set of tweets, Hill was asked by a fan to name his top five quarterbacks in the NFL. Four of the names he listed—Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow—are pretty close to a consensus. With his fifth pick, however, he went with Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield, a selection out of left field and notably not Tagovailoa.

The list is fairly innocuous on its face, but again, Hill has made it a point to call Tagovailoa one of the league's best quarterbacks for years since he was acquired by Miami. Now that he seems to want out (though he's walked back that desire after the initial wave of social media posts), he's happily listing other QBs. For their part, the Dolphins say they're not interested in moving Hill short of a serious haul of draft picks (though that may be a more difficult sell now with the 2025 draft over).

Perhaps Hill is taking a different approach this offseason. Or he just watched more football than usual last season. In any case, the vibes have certainly been better at this point in previous offseasons.


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Dan Lyons
DAN LYONS

Dan Lyons is a staff writer and editor on Sports Illustrated's Breaking and Trending News team. He joined SI for his second stint in November 2024 after a stint as a senior college football writer at Athlon Sports, and a previous run with SI spanning multiple years as a writer and editor. Outside of sports, you can find Dan at an indie concert venue or movie theater.