When top players go elsewhere in free agency or get traded while under contract, it's safe to say it's frequently about money. Seldom does anyone admit that, though, usually saying it's because of their role or how they were used in the offense. The latest example involves Tyreek Hill.
Hill talked about it in a podcast with agent Drew Rosenhaus; story at this link. There were other complaints, including a personal issue and some discussion of money (and the Davante Adams deal), but the one both harp in is the idea that the star wideout was underutilized at times.
“If teams are gonna give us favorable one-on-one matches against their best corner, I don’t see why teams don’t utilize their best receiver,” Hill said. “And that’s where probably like me and the team fell apart right there. When I’m like, yo, I don’t mean to talk or be a diva in some situation but can I see the pill some time, please? Just give me the ball, please.”
Maybe there were individual games where Hill didn't see enough targets, but it's hard to subscribe to the complaint. At the end of the year he was thrown to 159 times, which ranked 7th in the league. Over the past four years, Hill saw at least 135 targets three times (the fourth year he missed four games due to injury). Collectively, he accounts for three of the top 50 seasons for targets since 2017.
HEAVILY TARGETED WIDE RECEIVERS, 2018-2021 | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Player | G | Tgt | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD |
2021 | Cooper Kupp, LAR | 17 | 191 | 145 | 1947 | 13.4 | 16 |
2019 | Michael Thomas, N.O. | 16 | 185 | 149 | 1725 | 11.6 | 9 |
2018 | Julio Jones, Atl. | 16 | 170 | 113 | 1677 | 14.8 | 8 |
2021 | Davante Adams, G.B. | 16 | 169 | 123 | 1553 | 12.6 | 11 |
2021 | Diontae Johnson, Pitt. | 16 | 169 | 107 | 1161 | 10.9 | 8 |
2018 | Davante Adams, G.B. | 15 | 169 | 111 | 1386 | 12.5 | 13 |
2018 | Antonio Brown, Pitt. | 15 | 168 | 104 | 1297 | 12.5 | 15 |
2021 | Justin Jefferson, Min. | 17 | 167 | 108 | 1616 | 15.0 | 10 |
2020 | Stefon Diggs, Buff. | 16 | 166 | 127 | 1535 | 12.1 | 8 |
2018 | JuJu Smith-Schuster, Pitt. | 16 | 166 | 111 | 1426 | 12.9 | 7 |
2021 | Stefon Diggs, Buff. | 17 | 164 | 103 | 1225 | 11.9 | 10 |
2021 | DJ Moore, Car. | 17 | 163 | 93 | 1157 | 12.4 | 4 |
2018 | DeAndre Hopkins, Hou. | 16 | 163 | 115 | 1572 | 13.7 | 11 |
2020 | DeAndre Hopkins, Ariz. | 16 | 160 | 115 | 1407 | 12.2 | 6 |
2021 | Tyreek Hill, K.C. | 17 | 159 | 111 | 1239 | 11.2 | 9 |
2021 | Keenan Allen, LAC | 16 | 157 | 106 | 1138 | 10.7 | 6 |
2019 | Julio Jones, Atl. | 15 | 157 | 99 | 1394 | 14.1 | 6 |
2019 | Allen Robinson, Chi. | 16 | 154 | 98 | 1147 | 11.7 | 7 |
2019 | Julian Edelman, N.E. | 16 | 153 | 100 | 1117 | 11.2 | 6 |
2018 | Adam Thielen, Min. | 16 | 153 | 113 | 1373 | 12.2 | 9 |
2020 | Allen Robinson, Chi. | 16 | 151 | 102 | 1250 | 12.3 | 6 |
2019 | DeAndre Hopkins, Hou. | 15 | 150 | 104 | 1165 | 11.2 | 7 |
2020 | Davante Adams, G.B. | 14 | 149 | 115 | 1374 | 12.0 | 18 |
2019 | Keenan Allen, LAC | 16 | 149 | 104 | 1199 | 11.5 | 6 |
2018 | Stefon Diggs, Min. | 15 | 149 | 102 | 1021 | 10.0 | 9 |
2018 | Jarvis Landry, Cle. | 16 | 149 | 81 | 976 | 12.1 | 4 |
2019 | Tyler Boyd, Cin. | 16 | 148 | 90 | 1046 | 11.6 | 5 |
2020 | Keenan Allen, LAC | 14 | 147 | 100 | 992 | 9.9 | 8 |
2018 | Michael Thomas, N.O. | 16 | 147 | 125 | 1405 | 11.2 | 9 |
2021 | Marquise Brown, Balt. | 16 | 146 | 91 | 1008 | 11.1 | 6 |
2020 | Diontae Johnson, Pitt. | 15 | 144 | 88 | 923 | 10.5 | 7 |
2020 | Calvin Ridley, Atl. | 15 | 143 | 90 | 1374 | 15.3 | 9 |
2021 | Jaylen Waddle, Mia. | 16 | 140 | 104 | 1015 | 9.8 | 6 |
2021 | Darnell Mooney, Chi. | 17 | 140 | 81 | 1055 | 13.0 | 4 |
2019 | Robert Woods, LAR | 15 | 139 | 90 | 1134 | 12.6 | 2 |
2019 | Jarvis Landry, Cle. | 16 | 138 | 83 | 1174 | 14.1 | 6 |
2018 | Mike Evans, T.B. | 16 | 138 | 86 | 1524 | 17.7 | 8 |
2018 | Tyreek Hill, K.C. | 16 | 137 | 87 | 1479 | 17.0 | 12 |
2020 | Robby Anderson, Car. | 16 | 136 | 95 | 1096 | 11.5 | 3 |
2018 | Keenan Allen, LAC | 16 | 136 | 97 | 1196 | 12.3 | 6 |
2020 | Tyreek Hill, K.C. | 15 | 135 | 87 | 1276 | 14.7 | 15 |
2019 | DJ Moore, Car. | 15 | 135 | 87 | 1175 | 13.5 | 4 |
2021 | Brandin Cooks, Hou. | 16 | 134 | 90 | 1037 | 11.5 | 6 |
2020 | Terry McLaurin, Was. | 15 | 134 | 87 | 1118 | 12.9 | 4 |
2019 | Cooper Kupp, LAR | 16 | 134 | 94 | 1161 | 12.4 | 10 |
2019 | Odell Beckham, Cle. | 16 | 133 | 74 | 1035 | 14.0 | 4 |
2020 | Tyler Lockett, Sea. | 16 | 132 | 100 | 1054 | 10.5 | 10 |
2021 | Terry McLaurin, Was. | 17 | 130 | 77 | 1053 | 13.7 | 5 |
2020 | Amari Cooper, Dall. | 16 | 130 | 92 | 1114 | 12.1 | 5 |
2018 | Robert Woods, LAR | 16 | 130 | 86 | 1219 | 14.2 | 6 |
Note the presence of only one Dolphin on the list; Jaylen Waddle last year. There also aren't any 49ers, whose former offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel is now Miami's head coach. This makes sense since San Francisco has ranked 16th and 29th in pass attempts the last two years, while Miami ranked 18th and 8th. Kansas City was top-3 both seasons.
Tyreek's a great player; I've championed his skills elsewhere on this site, knocking what Kansas City will be putting on the field in his place. But it concerns me that he feels he wasn't utilized enough, particularly if he's thinking things will be different in Miami. He's not working with a comparable quarterback (although he claims Tua Tagovailoa is more accurate than Patrick Mahomes), and it will probably be a lesser (and less busy) passing game.
Hill averaged nearly 10 targets per game last year, and pretty likely he'll be under that in 2022. I think he might get homesick fairly quickly.
--Andy Richardson