Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill is seeking immortality
Forget the money, the records, the accolades.
Ignore the fame, the drama that encompasses his life, and the habitual trolling he has become notorious for delivering on social media, Tyreek Hill’s goal is to leave an everlasting imprint on football.
At this point, Hill possesses everything he’s ever wanted in life, and most of the accomplishments career wise he’s ever sought, which is why his new focus is locked on legacy.
His football legacy.
In the history of NFL - or Pro Football - there have been just seven receivers inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on the first ballot.
Raymond Barry, Lance Allworth, Paul Warfield, Steve Largent, Jerry Rice, Randy Moss, and Calvin Johnson are the original seven.
We can assume that former Arizona Cardinals great Larry Fitzgerald will make that number rise to eight in 2026, when he becomes eligible.
Consider how elite that group of players is when Terrell Owens, Michael Irvin, and Marvin Harrison had to wait a year or two to gain football’s highest honor. And keep in mind receiver is probably the toughest position to gain entry into the Hall of Fame. Just ask Reggie Wayne, whose resume is certainly good enough, but hasn’t allowed him to gain entry.
Hill doesn’t just want into football’s most elite group of alums. He aspires immediate entry, and realizes there’s still work to be done.
The Dolphins All-Pro receiver, the All-Decade talent the franchise just signed to a new three-year deal worth $90 million, intends to go where no receiver has ever gone before. This 5-foot-10 speed demon has a goal of changing how the world views small receivers, and his performance the past eight seasons hints he’s well on his way.
“He’s one of one,” Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel said. “He’s a shorter player that doesn’t play small, and that is his edge.”
Hill intends to use the final chapters of his illustrious career to kick the door in for all the smurf receivers, the talents under 6-foot who stretch the field.
“I want to change the game forever,” said Hill, who became the first receiver in NFL history to produce back-to-back 1,700 yard receiving seasons.
And just know, the 30-year-old does see an end coming soon, and that’s why his focus is locked on immortality.
“I want to be looked at as the guy who set the standard for short players in the league. I’m not just a guy who can stretch the field. I can play the position all the way around,” said Hill, who was voted by his peers as the NFL’s No. 1 overall player in the NFL Network’s player’s rankings.
He became the first every receiver to earn the top spot in the annual poll.
“I want to set the bar,” Hill said. “I want to be the standard.”
And Hill has done that through hard work, and his consistency.
“It’s one thing to be a faster [player], and then to also play fast, whether it’s practice and the games Sunday. Having guys like him that have that speed element, it really helps us because it allows us to move guys everywhere to affect defenses,” Dolphins offensive coordinator Frank Smith said. “When you have a guy that plays that way, it forces a reaction on the other side.
“We’re very lucky and really excited to keep pushing the envelope of what we want to try and do this year.”
PUSHING TO CATCH CALVIN JOHNSON
Johnson owns the NFL record for most receiving yards in a single season at 1,964, which the Hall of Famer accomplished in 2012 playing for the Detroit Lions.
And more recently, Los Angeles’ Cooper Kupp produced 1,947 receiving yards in 2021, which was the first season the NFL incorporated 17 regular season games.
Hill has been on pace to get to 2,000 yards, becoming the first NFL receiver to ever do so, heading into the December stretch of the season both years in Miami before fizzling out at the finish because of injuries. In 2023 a high ankle sprain slowed him down for the final month. And in 2022 he was physically wearing down, but it didn’t help that his quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa, missed the final two games of that season because of a concussion.
This season, Hill’s putting his quest for 2,000 on the back burner because it comes off selfish, and his family convinced him he needs to set a better example to his teammates.
That’s why Hill claims his only goal for 2024 is to help the Dolphins win a playoff game, ending the franchise’s 24-year drought, and to lead Miami to the Super Bowl.
“I’m not saying [2K is] off the table,” Hill explained. “But I understand how the season goes. Teams prepare to take me out of games. They prepare to take (Jaylen) Waddle out of games, so there could be situations that I have good games. There could be situations where I have bad games, but let’s not scratch off the 2k yet, all right? If it comes, it comes.
“God will bless me.”
Johnson, the most recent first ballot inductee at receiver, had the best two year stretch for a receiver in NFL history, producing 3,645 yards and 21 touchdowns in 2011 and 2012.
Hill’s 3,509 receiving yards and 20 touchdowns falls just short, and puts him behind Antonio Brown, who produced 3,532 receiving yards for the Steelers in 2014 and 2015.
Johnson produced 5,137 receiving yards between 2011-13, which is the NFL’s best three year stretch from a receiver.
Hill can surpass him if he produces 1,629 receiving yards in 2024, which is certainly possible he he stays healthy and plays all 17 games.
OVERCOMING TOUGH ODDS
Every challenge, every obstacle, every rep provides Hill an opportunity to distance himself from his difficult childhood, which is why he welcomes being challenged.
Those moments remind him of all he’s been through, like the time he lived in a home without electricity or running water for an entire year.
“My grandparents did everything they could for me. We had a home, but we didn’t have money to pay the lights and [bills],” Hill said. “I’d have to go to my aunts, uncles and friend’s houses to take showers. Nobody knew my whole senior year.
“I’d hear my mom and grandparents crying and told myself, ‘I’m going to take football serious. I’m going to do everything I can to provide for them,’ ” Hill continued. “I remember telling myself ‘we’ll never ever live like that ever again.’ I told myself, ‘I’ll never let anyone outwork me. I’d never let anyone tell me I can’t do something.’ From there it just took off.”
And he’s never stopped, not even when he lost his college scholarship after being dismissed from Oklahoma State because of a domestic violence charge he pleaded guilty to.
He eventually found a college home at West Alabama, which allowed him to redeem his name and image in the 2015 season, getting himself back on the radar of NFL teams.
And eight years later Hill has authored a career that’s almost certainly worthy of Hall of Fame consideration.
“Coming from a small town, just being able to make it to the NFL was the greatest accomplishment for myself. In the grand scheme of things you really don’t think about Hall of Fame and that stuff until that moment happens,” Hill continued. “But it would be amazing for me to be immortalized.”
This story was originally published August 23, 2024 at 1:57 PM.
