Miami Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill is the WR1 overall in fantasy football through the first seven games of the 2023 NFL season. Unfortunately, Hill picked up an injury against the Philadelphia Eagles last week. How will Hill’s injury impact the explosive Dolphins offense heading into their matchup against the New England Patriots?
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Latest Injury Update on Tyreek Hill
On Wednesday, PFN’s Dolphins’ report Adam Beasley reported that Hill had missed practice on Wednesday with a hip injury. However, at the time we had no idea of the severity of the injury. Head coach Mike McDaniel did not address the injury before practice and while we heard from players after practice, Hill did not speak to the media.
On Thursday, Hill was seen at practice looking back to normal and behaving as we would usually expect to see. Early signs are that either the hip issue was not a bad as it first seemed or the Dolphins were happy for this to be seen as something a little more concerning than it was. Either way, this is great news for fantasy managers who can now calm down.
Will Hill Play This Week?
Fantasy managers will need to monitor his participation in practice throughout the week. But according to a recent report from Barry Jackson, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa said, “Somewhere down the line, we’re going to get Tyreek back.”
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While Tagovailoa wasn’t exactly specific as to when Hill would be back, his quote does suggest there is a chance he will miss some time in the coming weeks.
However, it appears that Tua may have been purposefully misleading with his vague answer. It is hard to believe that the starting QB did not know that his star WR was going to be able to be on the practice field on Thursday.
What Does This Mean for Tua Tagovailoa and Jaylen Waddle’s Fantasy Ranking?
Hill’s 53 receptions for 902 yards and seven scores through the first seven games is on a record-breaking pace. If you remove Hill’s dynamic speed and playmaking ability from this offense, it could have a thick ripple effect throughout the rest of the offense.
Tagovailoa, who is currently the QB5 in fantasy football, would immediately be knocked down a tier without the services of Hill in the lineup. For me, he would fall into the low-end QB1 range with Hill out of the lineup against the Patriots.
Most would assume fellow starting WR Jaylen Waddle gets a bump up in the fantasy rankings. I’m open to that line of thinking, seeing that Waddle was productive in his rookie season without Hill or Mike McDaniel in the fold, which suggests he is fully capable of producing big numbers in a WR1 role.
However, if Bill Belichick can strictly game plan to limit Waddle’s impact on the game in Week 8, it could cap his ceiling more than some would like to admit for this week.
Other options who may see an expanded role in the passing game if Hill is unavailable in Week 8 would be Braxton Berrios, Cedrick Wilson, and possibly Chase Claypool.
If Hill is active this week, you will be starting him with no questions asked.