MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — When perhaps the final Miami Dolphins practice of the season broke Thursday, newly minted 2023 team MVP and the NFL‘s leader in receiving yards Tyreek Hill made a beeline for the JUGS machine.
It’s Chiefs Week, and despite the adversity he’s gone through in recent weeks — the high ankle sprain, the house fire, and the abundance of dropped passes — Hill has a chance to write the ending to this season’s story he wants.
But it will take work. Which is why Hill caught a bunch of extra passes as his teammates were making their way to the locker room Thursday afternoon.
Miami Dolphins MVP Tyreek Hill Talks Drops
Hill finished his best season as a pro with 119 catches, 1,799 yards, and 13 touchdowns on 171 targets.
And with Jaylen Waddle’s availability for Saturday’s game in doubt with an ankle injury, Hill likely will again be the Dolphins’ first, second, and third options in the passing game in the most important game of the season.
“I’ve been busting my tail, dealing with a lot of stuff as far as injuries and stuff like that,” Hill said when asked about the drops. “[So I’m] just trying to get back to the basics. I try to catch JUGS each and every day after practice, even though I don’t got to.
“I try to get back to the things that got me to this point, which is attention to detail, the fundamentals, and the techniques that the coaches taught me. Even my dad taught me to man, going back to the roots.”
Hill then explained why he has had some shaky moments with drops. Even with his brilliance, Hill should have had at least three more touchdowns this season and very likely met his goal of 2,000 receiving yards if not for the missed opportunities.
“When you’ve done so much, man, you got to find new ways to create new ways, you know, to entertain yourself man,” Hill said. “The season is long, the season gets boring. I’ve said this before: You got to find a way to fall in love with the boring things, and I feel like I kind of got away from that.
MORE: Miami Dolphins Depth Chart
“Now I’m back to it, man. I’m refocusing just on, you know, catching the ball and stuff like that. And I feel like I’ll be all right.”
Hill was in no-excuse mode Thursday. He played six years at Arrowhead Stadium, so the forecast — 0 degrees at kickoff with a wind chill of minus-17 — doesn’t faze him.
Tyreek Hill on Arrowhead memories, his house fire pic.twitter.com/L55mgJ0Hs6
— Adam Beasley (@AdamHBeasley) January 11, 2024
“It’s a mindset, right?” Hill said. “I feel like, if you believe it’s gonna be cold, then you’re gonna freeze your balls off. But if you go into this game, like not even thinking about any of that, you’ll be fine.
“I played there, and I understand the conditions. I’m, I’m not even worried about it at all, so I’m gonna go out there with no sleeves and, you know, just tell the rest of the guys, ‘Hey, look, man, it’s a mindset.’ If those guys see you wearing sleeves, obviously, they’re going to think you’re soft.”
Want to predict the results of the 2023 NFL postseason with our FREE NFL Playoff Predictor? How about looking into in-depth breakdowns of team depth charts or the NFL playoff schedule? Pro Football Network has you covered with all that and more!