Dolphins' superstar WR confidently calls himself the NFL's best player. Hill is ranked No. 1 overall on the league's Top-100 players list for 2024.
Hill turned heads by claiming he's better than Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes. Tyreek Hill reserves the right to anoint himself as the most talented wide receiver in the NFL. The Miami Dolphins dynamic speedster will be selected first in countless fantasy football drafts this season, and his peers notably ranked him No.
1 on the latest Top-100 players list . But there's still a difference between confidence and hubris, and perhaps Hill should learn it. During a recent interview on the "Up & Adams Show," Hill defended his new league standing, arguing that he's defied expectations for receivers of his short stature and been a model for consistency.
He was also asked if he's really better than Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes -- inexplicably ranked No. 4 on the list -- and didn't hesitate to say yes. Fo sho, I'm him! I'm him! My argument is.
.. Pat is great.
He's great, obviously, for his team. They won back-to-back Super Bowls, yada yada, and did their thing. You look at me, back-to-back 1,700 [yard seasons], Pro Bowl, All-Pro, All-Decade.
Consistency. All that, man..
. Coming off the 2024 Olympics, Tyreek Hill has claimed that he could beat Noah Lyles in a footrace. How would a race between the two play out? Understanding Hill's Argument There's no sense in debating Hill's superstar talent -- in regard to his individual achievements, what he said at training camp on Monday was true.
In 2023, he racked up a career-high 1,799 yards on 119 receptions, along with 13 touchdowns and a league-best 112.4 yards per game. He also finished sixth in MVP voting last season, and earned All-Pro honors for the fifth time.
Hill's pride in producing at such a high level is fair, too. In his two seasons with the Dolphins -- he was traded by the Chiefs in March 2022 -- he's compiled 3,509 yards, 20 touchdowns, and caught 238 of 341 total targets. Hill was recently rewarded for his output, as he restructured his contract to earn $90 million over the next three years with $65 million guaranteed.
Even though Hill isn't the league's highest-paid receiver -- he currently ranks fourth with a $30 million average salary -- players across the NFL can attest to his elite playmaking ability, and his status on the Top-100 list serves as a flattering endorsement. But does Hill actually reach the apex without help from Mahomes, the most successful player in today's game? Not quite. The most explosive threat in all of football belonged to the Chiefs for four seasons (2018-21), when Mahomes had the luxury of throwing to Hill at will.
Whether the passes and routes were designed or improvised, the tandem developed a lethal bond. Hill linked up with Mahomes for 41 scores, the second-most by a quarterback-receiver duo in that time, per ESPN Stats & Info . Acknowledge the Greatness Make no mistake, Mahomes is the gold standard.
And it's unfortunate that players around the NFL ranked him below Hill, sparking some heated debate among fans and pundits. Unless Hill threw footballs to himself in Kansas City, isn't Mahomes deserving of the most credit for Hill's ascension? Quarterbacks still run the NFL, no matter what a list made by Hill's peers reflects. As if Mahomes' career statistics weren't enough to justify his brilliance, just take a look at the accolades.
At age 28, he's already a three-time champion, poised to make Kansas City the first three-peat team of the Super Bowl era (since 1967). Plus, his three Super Bowl MVP awards are the most by any player in his first seven seasons. He's entered rarefied air.
GIVEMESPORT Key Stat: Patrick Mahomes has already thrown for 219 touchdowns and 28,424 yards, the second-most in NFL history for a passer's first seven seasons. Hill made sure to give Mahomes props during Monday's interview, but he deliberately glossed over -- or made light of -- something important that torpedoes his case. The Chiefs didn't skip a beat after Hill's exit, as Mahomes counted on veteran tight end Travis Kelce for crunch time targets and built trust with other receivers.
They've already won twice without Hill. Twice. Any franchise-- including the Chiefs, if there were no salary cap implications -- would welcome Hill's exceptional speed and ball-tracking skills.
But, ironically, the team demonstrated that Hill was dispensable with Mahomes in command. Kansas City's lead wideout in 2023 was rookie Rashee Rice, and in 2022, the top target was recently-cut veteran JuJu Smith-Schuster . It'd be unusual for any stud receiver to downplay his significance, as there's always somebody new attempting to reset the position's market with a record-setting contract and build a bigger brand.
So, nobody can blame Hill for showing some conviction. Is he the NFL's best receiver? A fair take. But it's difficult to buy Hill's argument as the best player.
Mahomes hasn't retired. All statistics courtesy of Pro Football Reference and all contract info courtesy of Spotrac unless stated otherwise. The Chiefs' superstar no longer ranks inside the top 10 for this popular QB category.
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