One area Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill prefers Tua over Mahomes. And more from debut podcast
Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill is continuing to voice his support for his new quarterback, Tua Tagovalioa, speaking highly of the polarizing third-year quarterback on his debut podcast episode.
“I know this team will go very far because I’ve had a chance to see Tua throw the ball to myself,” Hill said on the It Needed To Be Said podcast. “He’s that dude. I’m not just sitting here saying this because he’s my quarterback now. ... Tua is that deal. He has a heck of an arm. He’s accurate. He can throw the ball deep. And he actually goes through his reads.
Addressing concerns that he won’t be as productive going from Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes to Tagovailoa, Hill said: “I went for 150 [yards] with Matt Moore as my quarterback ... And Tua T is 10 Matt Moore’s.”
It’s far from the first time Hill has come to the defense of Tagovailoa since he was traded to the Dolphins.
“Tua actually has probably one of the prettiest balls I’ve ever caught in my life. ... Tua is a very accurate quarterback,” Hill said during organized team activities in May.
Asked by his co-host and lawyer Julius Collins who has the stronger arm, Hill sided with Mahomes but said he prefers the accuracy of Tagovailoa to Mahomes’ arm strength.
“Obviously I’m going to go with 1-5 [Mahomes] as the strongest arm but as far as accuracy-wise, I’m going with Tua all day,” he said. “I want [the ball] to hit me right in the bread basket, just like it did in the Buffalo Bills game and take it 70 and the rest is history. ... I love the deep ball. But I done expanded my game, so now I’m doing a lot more than just the deep ball. I’m doing intermediate routes. I’m doing short routes.”
Hill also gave more insight into his breakup from the Chiefs, saying it wasn’t just over the specifics of the long-term extension he sought.
Agent Drew Rosenhaus, who was a guest on the episode, and Hill said there were times during the 2021 season when Hill felt underutilized. Hill pointed to how he opened up the season with 11 catches for 197 yards and a touchdown in a win over the Cleveland Browns but saw just four targets for three receptions and 14 yards the following week in a loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
“If teams are going to give us favorable 1-on-1 matches against their best corner, I don’t see why teams don’t utilize their best receiver,” he said. “And that’s where probably me and Chiefs fell apart right there. When I’m like, I don’t mean to talk or be a diva in some situations but can I see the [ball]?”
Last season, Hill saw a career-high 159 targets and caught 111 passes, third-most in the league, for 1,239 yards and 11 touchdowns. Hill and Rosenhaus reiterated that Hill wanted to remain in Kansas City but their side and the Chiefs brass could not come to an agreement on an extension.
Hill was traded to the Dolphins in March and subsequently received a four-year, $120 million contract, making him the highest-paid receiver in NFL history. Hill, however, claimed receiving more money than any other player at his position wasn’t the end all be all.
“I don’t got to get $30 million,” Hill said. “At least give me $25, $26. The numbers weren’t even close to that. ... I talked to the big man Andy Reid, I had talked to the quarterback. I’m like, ‘Look, can we make something happen? Can we make something happen? Can the guaranteed money make sense to me? Can it make sense to my family?’”
The New York Jets were close to executing a trade for Hill but the Dolphins beat out the divisional rival for the services of the six-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro, the crown jewel of an active offseason.
This story was originally published June 13, 2022 at 11:02 AM.
