How can the Oakland Raiders stop Tyreek Hill in 2019 and beyond?
By Daniel Davis
The Kansas City Chiefs plan to sign Tyreek Hill to a long-term deal, so how do the Oakland Raiders handle him in 2019 and beyond.
It’s no secret the Chiefs and Raiders are bitter rivals in the AFC West. The Chiefs obviously had a great season last year nearly making it to the Super Bowl against the Los Angeles Rams. But the Chiefs are looking to sign one of their most important players, Tyreek Hill, to a long term deal locking him down for the long term future and making him one of the highest paid wide receivers in the game.
The previous leader for wide receiver contracts was Odell Beckham. The New York Giants superstar signed a $95 million dollar contract with $65 million in guaranteed cash before the previous season started; setting the standard for wide receiver contracts at the superstar level. While many Oakland fans have hatred for their division rival, there’s no questioning Hill’s talent in getting open and burning corners who make mistakes.
Tyreek Hill set career records, albeit, his young career, in 2018 with 87 receptions, 1,479 yards (17 yards per catch), and the third most receiving touchdowns at 12.
Even more important was the stats against the Raiders. In week 1 the Raiders got blown out 35-3 in Kansas City and Hill was a major reason why. The “cheetah,” as his nickname goes, had 7 targets with 5 receptions for 101 yards and a touchdown to go along with 1 rushing attempt for 15 yards and two touchdowns as he lived up to his name.
However, the Raiders calmed him down at home in week 5 with only 1 catch on 6 targets for 13 yards and 2 rushes for 37 yards (33 coming on one rush).
With the Chiefs seemingly trying to sign one of their weapons to a long term deal, Oakland needs to start building for the future at the defensive back position and pass rusher; the two are one and the same and tend to play off of each other.
The Raiders already have two first-round picks at 4 and 24, which, presumably, will be a pass rusher or a defender of some sort. However, with the interest in Antonio Brown, one of those picks may be gone (doubtful, but anything is possible. Khalil Mack is a Chicago Bear after all).