MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Are the Miami Dolphins actually using Tyreek Hill too much?
As ridiculous as that might seem to read, the answer is — perhaps.
Hill might run like the Flash, but he, in fact, does not have superpowers. And there’s reason to believe that Mike McDaniel will get more out of Hill long term by getting less out of him in the short term.
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Miami Dolphins Concerns Over Tyreek Hill Usage?
Hill already has a natural pitch count. He seems to cramp up every week, and he’s always the first one into the locker room at the break for fluids.
And while his snap count isn’t massive at this point of the season — he’s only been on the field for 184 of Miami’s 268 offensive snaps (68.7%), a stat impacted by lopsided scores in each of the last two weeks — Hill seemed to wear down a bit against the Bills, who made a point to body him up.
In the 48-20 rout of the Dolphins, Buffalo limited Hill to a season-low three catches.
“I think like most teams, everybody has a plan for that, and generally, it involves either a complete coverage commitment or a double,” Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said.
“That’s one of the reasons why [the Dolphins receivers] are just as dependent upon the run game, as is the quarterback, as is the offensive line. They’re dependent on me to call a good game.
“When you get into situations where you’re behind and guys can kind of predict pass, they can play softer coverage that takes the ball away from you outside the numbers with a corner and a safety and then inside the numbers with sinking ‘backers and such,” McDaniel added.
“That’s not something that we hadn’t seen. It’s just tough when you get into that situation and you’re behind several scores to really dictate the terms the way that we like.”
The good news for McDaniel?
Tyreek Hill compares Tua’s level of play this season to watching Lebron pic.twitter.com/BshsgAg8sc
— VBS (@VBSofficial_) September 28, 2023
Miami has one of the two or three best No. 2 wide receivers in football in Jaylen Waddle. They should use him like that.
In 2023, Hill has 1 1/2 times the targets as Waddle in just 46 more snaps. As we explain in our Week 5 PFN Miami Dolphins podcast, those numbers need to even out — particularly since Waddle has been the more efficient receiver in this small sample size.
Waddle has a higher catch rate (75% to 70%), averages more yards after the catch (9.3 to 4.9), and creates slightly more separation (3.2 to 3.1 yards per target) than Hill.
MORE: How Worried Is Mike McDaniel About the Miami Dolphins’ Defense?
He also doesn’t have nearly as many miles on the odometer. Waddle is five years younger than Hill, has a substantially shallower average depth of target (13.4 to 10.8), and doesn’t do nearly as much pre-snap motioning as Hill.
Hill is as fast as anyone. But even he can’t outrun the laws of nature.