Miami Dolphins

Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill said on the debut episode of his podcast, It Needed To Be Said, that things fell apart in Kansas City because he was upset with not getting the ball more often.

"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, per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.

"And that's where probably like me and the Chiefs 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."

The Chiefs traded the 28-year-old to the Dolphins on March 23 for five draft picks. Hill then signed a four-year, $120 million contract with Miami.

Hill had a career-high 159 targets for 111 catches, 1,239 yards and nine touchdowns last year. He added 23 receptions for 285 yards and three touchdowns on 28 targets in three playoff games.

It's fair to say that Hill's week-to-week usage was sometimes inconsistent. For example, he had five or fewer targets in six of his 20 games played last year.

Hill's agent, Drew Rosenhaus, spoke about the feeling he and his client had about that usage.

“There was a lot of times during the year that we felt that Tyreek was underutilized and wasn’t fully appreciated, and that they really weren’t taking full advantage of all of his ability and talent. But Tyreek’s is a trooper. He never made a peep about it. He was extremely professional.”

Hill also reiterated that the only thing he cares about is "respect within the building."

"I want the head coach to know that on Sundays, that defenses fear Tyreek Hill," he said.

"That's what I want the head coach to know. And the head coach do know that, though. He know that without the Cheetah on the field, he know that, 'Hey, Pat [Mahomes], you're gonna have a long day today.'"

Hill and tight end Travis Kelce served as the Chiefs' top playmakers. But in Miami, Hill should stand alone as the No. 1 weapon with wideout Jaylen Waddle serving as an excellent sidekick.

The Dolphins also have wideout Cedrick Wilson and tight end Mike Gesicki in the mix, among others.

Arm strength has been a major question mark surrounding Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa since he entered the NFL, but new Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill believes Tua is elite in another area.

Speaking about his trade from the Kansas City Chiefs to the Dolphins on his YouTube channel (beginning at the 41:30 mark), Hill praised Tagovailoa, especially for his accuracy:

Hill was asked who has the stronger arm between Tagovailoa and Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (h/t ProFootballTalk's Mike Florio), to which Hill responded: "Obviously, like I'm gonna go with 15 [Mahomes] as the strongest arm but as far as accuracy-wise, I'm going with Tua all day."

Mahomes has enjoyed far more success in the NFL than Tua, having racked up an NFL MVP award, a Super Bowl win and a Super Bowl MVP, but with Hill making the move to Miami, Tagovailoa now has the best weapon he has ever thrown to in his young career.

Hill continued to praise Tua during the discussion, suggesting he can make all the throws an NFL quarterback needs to in order to be successful:

"I've had a chance to see Tua throw the ball, to myself, but ... he's that dude, bro. Like, what a lot of people don’t know, like, I'm not just sitting here just saying this because he's my quarterback now. ... Like, I'm not trying to get more targets right now, but what I'm trying to say is Tua is that deal, bro. ... Bro, he has a heck of an arm, bro. He's accurate. He can throw the deep ball, and he actually goes through his reads, where people are like on Twitter like saying, 'Oh, he doesn't go through his reads.' Man, this dude is that dude."

Tagovailoa, 24, was the No. 5 pick by the Dolphins in the 2020 draft after a spectacular collegiate career at Alabama, although there were some concerns about his durability after he suffered significant hip and ankle injuries.

Tagovailoa has missed some time due to injury in his first two NFL seasons, but he has also had some success, going 13-8 as a starter.

In 23 appearances, Tagovailoa has completed 66.2 percent of his passes for 4,467 yards, 27 touchdowns and 15 interceptions, which are decent numbers, but they don't jump off the page or come close to approaching what Mahomes has done as a four-time Pro Bowler in his four seasons as a starter.

If Tagovailoa is going to play at a Pro Bowl level and get the Dolphins to the playoffs, the time to do so is now, as he has been given essentially every tool to succeed.

Hill is front and center in that regard as a six-time Pro Bowler and three-time first-team All-Pro, and he believes his versatility will go a long way toward helping Tagovailoa evolve:

"I love the deep ball, but guess what though? I done expanded my game. So now I'm doing a lot more than just the deep ball now. I'm doing intermediate routes. I'm doing short routes. So now I actually need a guy who can just get me the ball now, on a dagger route, on a corner route, on a shallow cross route. You know, right now, right in my chest. So I can do the rest. I make you look good now."

The Dolphins haven't reached the playoffs since 2016 and have just one playoff appearance over the past 13 seasons and two over the past 20 seasons, so there is a sense of urgency to turn things around.

The New England Patriots' lengthy run of dominance in the AFC East is over, but another AFC East power has formed in the Buffalo Bills and quarterback Josh Allen, who have had the Dolphins' number in recent years.

The Dolphins now have a chance to hang with Buffalo's high-powered offense thanks to the presence of Hill, but whether they can overtake the Bills is largely dependent on Tagovailoa improving by leaps and bounds.

Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill said Friday he did everything in his power to remain with the Kansas City Chiefs but the team wouldn't come close to his contract request.

Hill and his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, detailed the period leading up to the blockbuster offseason trade on the wideout's new podcast, It Needed To Be Said, saying a conversation with Chiefs head coach Andy Reid failed to yield the desired outcome.

"I'm like, 'Hey Coach, yo like, I ain't even gotta be the highest-paid, for real. I just want to be put in like a realistic position that's like realistic for me and my family,'" Hill said. "I don't gotta get $30 million. At least get me 25, 26. ... Numbers wasn't even close to that."

Rosenhaus added Reid asked Hill directly whether he wanted to stay in Kansas City, which the six-time Pro Bowl selection confirmed was the case, but the Chiefs' offer still came up "millions of dollars short" in guaranteed money.

In March, Reid said the Chiefs made an "aggressive" proposal in an effort to keep the superstar receiver but it became clear the sides wouldn't be able to reach an agreement.

"I love Tyreek Hill," Reid told reporters. "There's no rift between Tyreek Hill and myself. I thought he deserved an opportunity if that's where he wanted to go. He's a family man that has a few kids and he's got to be able to support them now and down the road, and this gives him an opportunity to do that."

The 28-year-old Georgia native was dealt to Miami for five draft picks, including a 2022 first-round selection. The Chiefs flipped that choice, No. 29 overall, to the New England Patriots as part of a deal for the No. 21 pick, which was used to select Washington cornerback Trent McDuffie.

Meanwhile, Hill signed a four-year, $120 million contract with the Dolphins after the trade that included $72.2 million in guarantees.

While it was a bit surprising the Chiefs decided to move on from Patrick Mahomes' longtime favorite target, the front office made a series of moves—signing JuJu Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdes-Scantling and drafting Skyy Moore—to help fill the void.

That new pass-catching trio combined with Travis Kelce, Mecole Hardman and Josh Gordon should ensure the K.C. passing attack remains one of the NFL's most productive groups.

As for Hill, he's going to face a lot of pressure to help accelerate the development of Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who's facing a potential make-or-break year in his quest to establish himself as a franchise quarterback.

Having Hill, Jaylen Waddle, Cedrick Wilson Jr. and Mike Gesicki at his disposal gives the 24-year-old University of Alabama product all the necessary tools for success.

The Chiefs and Dolphins aren't scheduled to face off in the regular season, but a playoff matchup could be on the horizon if Tagovailoa breaks through and Mahomes helps Kansas City survive the AFC West, the league's deepest division.

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa bristles at criticism he has received heading into his third NFL season.

Addressing "Twitter warriors" and "keyboard warriors," Tagovailoa told reporters Thursday he isn't concerned with outside opinions about his game, particularly his arm strength:

Per Stathead, Tagovailoa is 30th in adjusted yards per attempt (6.39) among the 41 quarterbacks who threw at least 300 passes over the last two years. In 2021, he had the third-fewest average intended air yards (7.0), according to NFL's Next Gen Stats.

Selecting Jaylen Waddle, who averaged 18.9 yards per reception at Alabama, with the sixth overall pick last year was supposed to help Tagovailoa and the Dolphins passing game expand down the field. Instead, Waddle eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards but averaged just 9.8 yards per catch.

While Miami has added Tyreek Hill to the mix, the discourse about Tagovailoa's arm strength remains.

That includes close scrutiny whenever a clip of Tagovailoa working out this offseason surfaces. While the Dolphins were trying to hype up the Tagovailoa-Hill partnership, many observers noted how the southpaw's throw was wobbly and didn't hit the receiver in stride.

Hill offered a strong endorsement of his starting quarterback, telling reporters in May that Tagovailoa "actually has probably one of the prettiest balls I've ever caught in my life" and is "very accurate."

Ultimately, nothing Tagovailoa does on the practice field will win over his skeptics. His performance in the regular season will determine how the perception of his abilities takes shape.

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has appreciated new head coach Mike McDaniel's coaching philosophy amid the team's minicamp.

"I've never been around a coach like this," Tagovailoa told reporters Thursday. "My dad was hard on me. My high school coach was hard on me. Coach Saban was hard on me. All the coaches I've had have been hard on me. But he takes a different alleyway on teaching and learning."

Tagovailoa is heading into his third season in the NFL after playing the last two years under Brian Flores. After starring for Nick Saban at Alabama, the quarterback has struggled to live up to expectations as the No. 5 overall pick in the 2020 draft.

McDaniel, meanwhile, is in his first stint as a head coach after spending last season as the San Francisco 49ers' offensive coordinator.

The 39-year-old only had one season as an offensive coordinator before getting the Dolphins job, spending the previous four years as the 49ers' run game coordinator. He also has experience as a positions coach and offensive assistant with the Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns, Washington Commanders and Houston Texans.

Throughout his time in the NFL, McDaniel has developed a reputation as a players' coach.

"He is able to connect and talk with guys," former Dolphins running back Matt Breida said in February, per Joe Schad of the Palm Beach Post. "He's not yelling in your face. He talks to you like a grown man or your son. He's got a lot of guys out there who want to do well and do well for him."

Former 49ers running back Raheem Mostert also followed McDaniel to Miami while signing as a free agent this offseason.

The only question is whether this approach can lead to success on the field, turning around a franchise that hasn't reached the playoffs in five years.

Miami made major upgrades in the offseason, trading for Tyreek Hill while signing Chase Edmonds, Terron Armstead and others. It will be up to McDaniel and Tagovailoa to get the most out of the roster.

Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill's racing days appear to be over.

"I can’t race no more, man," Hill said when asked at a Wednesday press conference about a potential race with teammate Jaylen Waddle.

It's unclear why Hill has decided to call it a career in the racing realm, but Hal Habib of the Palm Beach Post noted that Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel isn't going to stop Hill and Waddle from racing if that's what they want to do.

"I’m not going to tell them not to race," McDaniel said. "I love competitors. I’m also not going to force them to race."

Hill's comments dropped a couple weeks after a potential race with Seattle Seahawks wideout DK Metcalf for $50,000 toward charity appeared to be in the works.

Hill most recently finished last in a four-person "Fastest Man in the NFL" competition at 2022 Pro Bowl weekend. Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons took the honors there. In fairness, Hill had just played a trio of playoff games during the last month and may not have been at his top form.

In the past, Hill notably beat ex-Kansas City Chiefs teammate Mecole Hardman in a race during the 2020 offseason. He also took down Pro Football Hall of Fame wideout Terrell Owens.