Tyreek Hill suffered a heel injury in warmups last weekend against the Broncos — is he playing tonight? He didn’t play much of Kansas City’s Week 18 game, hurting fantasy football lineups in the process. What is his status as the Chiefs gear up for their Wild Card matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers?
Update 01/16/22: Tyreek Hill is officially active for the Chiefs as they take on the Steelers in the Wild Card Round. For the rest of the Chiefs inactives, make sure to check out our Wild Card Round Inactives.
Is Tyreek Hill playing tonight vs. the Steelers?
Fans feared the worst as they watched Hill hobble around in pregame warmups just one game away from the playoffs. His contribution to the Chiefs’ offense is pivotal, and they’ll need him if they want to make a deep playoff run.
Fortunately, Hill has been practicing this week. As reported by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Hill will play barring any setbacks. He played only 12 snaps against the Broncos, as the Chiefs monitored his sore heel. It didn’t make sense to push him too hard and risk not having him at all in the knockout rounds.
How has Hill performed so far this season?
What Hill is doing on the football field is quite remarkable. For a man of his size to be dominating the league as a receiver is brilliant to watch. He’s one of a kind, and there’s a reason that every other franchise is looking for the next Tyreek Hill.
Hill has four 1,000 yard+ receiving seasons in the last five years. If you include his playoffs totals, he has 1,000 in all five seasons. Since he joined the league in 2016, Hill’s 56 receiving touchdowns are third in the NFL behind only Davante Adams and Mike Evans.
In 2021, Hill caught 111 passes, the highest volume of his career. Those receptions translated to 1,239 yards and 9 touchdowns.
The Chiefs’ offense has looked a little different this year, and as a result, Hill’s average yards per reception is down a little. Compared to last season’s 14.7 YPR, he’s now hitting 11.2 this season. Hill had a career-high 17 yards per reception in 2018.
Fantasy expectations for Hill
As a fantasy talent, Hill has been a top-10 receiver in four of his last five seasons. He was the No. 2 WR in 2020 and finished as the No. 7 receiver in 2021.
Hill totaled 298.50 fantasy points, having played in every game in some capacity. He was only on limited reps during the Steelers and Broncos games in Weeks 16 and 18, respectively.
There’s a reason that Hill is annually viewed as a top-three receiver in fantasy drafts. Still just 27 years old, there is plenty of production left to come from him.