Fantasy Impact: Tyreek Hill On The Dolphins

Tyreek Hill Fantasy 2022

As if the 2022 NFL offseason couldn’t get any weirder, the Kansas City Chiefs decided it was time to part ways with one of their franchise staples. The receiver gifted with generational speed, Tyreek Hill, was first reported to be considered in trade packages early on March 23rd. But then only a couple of hours after those trade rumors were released, Tyreek Hill seemed to be packing his bags on the way to South Beach. While the trade was confusing, it appears to have worked out for both sides. 

Kansas City has been struggling with money for a while now as the megadeal they gave to Patrick Mahomes was expected to bring on some problems down the road. Now that Tyreek Hill was expecting $30 million per year in this new wide receiver market, the Chiefs had almost no way of paying him what he thought he was owed. Luckily for them, Hill is an incredibly talented receiver and Kansas City received a large package of draft picks in return. In return for Tyreek Hill, the Chiefs gained the number 29 overall pick, the number 50 overall pick, and a fourth-round pick in 2022 in addition to a fourth-rounder and a sixth-rounder in 2023. While the Chiefs will be missing their most dynamic receiver, they have a lot of new draft capital to fill other roster holes and claim a cheaper wide receiver in this deep draft class. 

On the Dolphins’ side, they’re acquiring probably the fastest and most elusive receiver in the NFL to help out their quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa. Tua has lacked many promising performances in his first couple of years in the NFL. It could be argued whether that was his own fault or the fault of a coaching staff that lacked faith in him but the addition of Hill as a weapon definitely boosts his potential as a passer. 

This blockbuster trade has a lot of fantasy football implications so let’s get into them below.

Tyreek’s Usage and Pairing with Tua

Tyreek Hill’s place in the Dolphins’ offense will probably look much different than what fans have been used to for the past few years. Mike McDaniel is entering as the new head coach down in Miami and, as a protégé of Kyle Shanahan, he should have some very interesting offensive sets lined up. During his time with the 49ers, McDaniel was seen as a genius in the run game as offenses he was involved with consistently ranked near the top of the league in rushing success. 

Mike McDaniel has also been, in large part, credited with the creative utilization of Deebo Samuel last season. With Miami’s new acquisition of Tyreek Hill, there could be some overlap in the use that Deebo saw in 2021. Hill’s style of play is similar to Deebo’s with a sprinkle of Mach 10 speed. If McDaniel is able to replicate the usage and create the large running lanes that characterized his time in San Francisco, Miami could be very dangerous with the addition of Hill.

WATCH: #Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel on any potential of using Tyreek Hill like he used Deebo Samuel in San Francisco#finsup @WPBF25News pic.twitter.com/qeUJ3gsDh5

— Yianni Kourakis (@WPBF_Yianni) March 28, 2022

Tyreek is also now entering an offense that will differ greatly from the dominant high flying Chiefs’ offense that he’s been used to. It should be common knowledge by now that Tua is no Patrick Mahomes. Tua has been near the bottom of the league in most statistical categories for his first two years in the league while also being one of the least aggressive passers as well. In 2021, Tua ranked 30th in deep pass attempts (28) and 23rd in YPA (6.8). Maybe it was just the offensive game plan or Brian Flores’ coaching staff that didn’t believe in him but Tua certainly kept his passes close to the line of scrimmage. 

What’s good about this pairing though is that Tyreek Hill has no problem creating yards after the catch. He’s shown the ability take screens to the house if a defense isn’t paying enough attention and he’s also ranked within the top-20 in YAC for the past three years. 

Hill also has experience in an offense that should be somewhat similar to what Miami will be operating under. During his first two years in the league, Tyreek was receiving passes from a check-down savant in Alex Smith. While he was used sparsely in his rookie year, he managed to put up 1,100+ yards and seven touchdowns during his sophomore season. So, while Tua hasn’t shown the ability to be a gunslinger, Tyreek Hill has proven to be productive without the presence of a generational quarterback in an aggressive passing offense.

Who Steps Up in Kansas City?

Now that Hill is out of Kansas City, the Chiefs’ wide receiver room is looking a little mediocre. During this offseason, the Chiefs have lost pretty much every wide receiver that was making an impact outside of Mecole Hardman. To patch up the losses, they’ve added former Steeler, JuJu Smith-Schuster, and former Packers’ speedster, Marquez Valdes-Scantling. That duo may seem like a major downgrade from Tyreek Hill because it is a major downgrade from Tyreek Hill. 

However, trading their star receiver wasn’t the worst thing that could’ve happened to Kansas City. His price tag was definitely too much for them to handle and the draft capital they received in return has a lot of promise. The Chiefs now own two late first-round picks in a draft that has been described as having a very deep group of wide receivers. Almost everyone is expecting the Chiefs to select one of these talented receivers so the possibility of another strong pairing with Patrick Mahomes is there. 

While that receiver has yet to be added to the roster, the Chiefs will need to look to their new additions of JuJu and MVS for production. Both of these receivers have had their ups and downs as JuJu was particularly successful during the first two years of his career while playing alongside Antonio Brown. On the other hand, MVS has been playing with the best receiver in the NFL for the past few years in Davante Adams but he never had a particularly productive season in Green Bay. The issue with both of these weapons is that neither of them has been the main option in their team’s wide receiver room. But when a receiver is in an offense with Patrick Mahomes, anything is possible. 

As far as who will be the next lead option for the foreseeable future in this wide receiver room, I’d put money on whoever the incoming rookie is. But for the options present in this lineup right now, MVS seems to be the more intriguing newcomer. The Chiefs’ offense has been one that consistently revolves around the deep ball and they’ll need a receiver to take over the large number of deep targets that Tyreek Hill has commanded over the years. That’s not to say MVS is on any level close to Tyreek Hill, but the offense is in need of a reliable field stretcher. Valdes-Scantling’s 2021 average depth of target was 17.5 yards (1st in the NFL) so he should fit nicely in that role. If we’re following the money here, MVS is now on a three-year $30 million deal while JuJu is on a one-year $3.25 million deal with a ton of incentives. With that contract in comparison to JuJu’s one-year deal, it wouldn’t be surprising to see MVS take a more involved role that utilizes his skillset better than the Packers were able to.

The Fantasy Impact

This trade is a monumental one as it is drastically changing the outlooks for some of the most impactful players in fantasy football. 

Tyreek Hill’s value should be taking a hit. While there could be some exciting usage coming his way, this Tua Tagovailoa-led offense shouldn’t be anywhere close to creating the same production that the Chiefs are able to with Patrick Mahomes. The Dolphins’ offense will likely be much more focussed on establishing the run game with Mike McDaniel calling the shots. This will limit Hill’s potential for the splash performances he’s been used to having during his time in Kansas City while he competes with Jaylen Waddle for targets. Also, Tyreek isn’t getting any younger. The star receiver heavily relies on his speed and athletic ability which should decline with age unless he defies father time. Tyreek is still supremely talented but his time as a surefire top-five receiver in fantasy football appears to be over. 

Jaylen Waddle on the other hand should continue to be valued right around where he has been as of late. Waddle is still a major player in this offense and Mike McDaniel has already expressed his enthusiasm about getting to draw up plays for him in 2022. He is a young receiver coming off of an impressive rookie campaign where he broke the rookie receptions record. While his immediate production might be taking a hit, Jaylen Waddle has his entire career ahead of him at only 23 years of age. If Waddle is being valued lower than he should be in any league, this may be the perfect opportunity to buy low as his price may have been negatively affected by the Tyreek Hill acquisition. 

In Kansas City, the recent additions of JuJu Smith Schuster and Marquez Valdes-Scantling should be seeing a huge jump in fantasy value as anything is possible when you’re receiving passes from Patrick Mahomes. The jury is still out on whether an incoming rookie will be taking over the lead role. But, for right now, JuJu and MVS should be seeing a major boost in their stock just because they get to work with arguably the best quarterback in the NFL right now. 

The final player whose fantasy value is majorly impacted by this move is Tua Tagovailoa. Tua has been very underwhelming during his time in the league but now with the offense bringing in a slew of new weapons including Tyreek Hill, he is entering a major “make it or break it” year. Tua’s value should be on the rise due to the potential that this new and improved offense shows under Mike McDaniel. He could easily disappoint but with this armory of weapons at his disposal, you almost have to buy into the hype for this upcoming season.