The Miami Dolphins acquired wide receiver Tyreek Hill last offseason for a slew of draft picks and immediately gave him an extension making him the highest-paid wideout in the league.
While the talent was obvious, there were questions about whether or not Hill would have the same impact with the Dolphins that he did with the Kansas City Chiefs, playing with Patrick Mahomes as his quarterback.
Hill quelled all of the noise in 2022, as he was second in the league in receptions (119) and yards (1,710). Both marks were also career highs for the 28-year-old.
One aspect that has made the Hill trade a resounding success has flown a bit under the radar, and that’s the effort that he puts in on the practice field and by himself, setting a great example for others.
After Wednesday’s minicamp session, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa spoke about Hill’s work ethic and how it makes things easier for the leaders.
“Yeah, it makes it a lot easier because before Tyreek came here, he was a well-known person,” Tagovailoa said. “He’s a superstar in the NFL. For him to come here, we have a young team so a lot of the younger guys look up to someone like him. Now that he’s on the team, they see the kind of work ethic he has. They see what kind of person he is in the building, around the building and it’s like, oh, he’s a cool dude. He’s just like any other person. He’s not this, ‘I’m this ego person.’ Although everyone in the locker room thinks they’re better than everyone. But at the end of the day, it’s a team and everyone respects each other in there.”
When a superstar comes in and puts everything into their training, that sets a level of expectations around the building. Rookies come into work seeing a seven-time Pro Bowler grinding every day, they’ll have to come in and have that same mindset if they want to be successful in the league.
While Hill’s ability is incredible, what he brings on the practice field and to the locker room might be more impactful.
