After terrorizing the Las Vegas Raiders for years, Tyreek Hill is leaving Kansas City for the Miami Dolphins in a blockbuster deal.
It is fair to say that this has been one of the better offseason weeks in recent memory for the Raiders as they traded for Davante Adams who is arguably the best receiver in the NFL for two early picks. Adams’ press conference was a lovefest for Raider Nation as he talked about always wanting to play in Silver and Black but the Tyreek Hill news may be the biggest addition by subtraction for the Raiders.
Hill has been a member of the Kansas City Chiefs since 2016 and has been a massive thorn in the side of the Raiders despite his diminutive size. Thanks to his world-class speed, Hill has torn defenses to shreds and has saved some of his best work for the Raiders.
In 11 games against Oakland/Las Vegas, including three where he wasn’t yet a starter, Hill has racked up 54 catches for 794 yards and 6 touchdowns. Throw in two rushing touchdowns and a punt return score and he has averaged more than a touchdown per start against the Silver and Black. He has topped 100 yards just three times but most of those games have been blowouts so his services were not needed for the full game.
Raiders Tyreek Hill nightmare is over
Now that nightmare is not fully over because he is still in the AFC but the Raiders will no longer have to game plan for him twice a year. Hill is headed to the Miami Dolphins in a massive deal that includes a 2022 1st-rounder (No. 29), a 2022 2nd-rounder (No. 50), 2022 4th-rounder, 2023 4th-rounder, and a 2023 6th-rounder.
The Dolphins also plan to make Hill the highest-paid receiver in the NFL by giving him a 4-year, $120 million deal with around $70 million guaranteed which surpasses the deal recently given to Davante Adams. So to recap, the Dolphins gave up three more draft picks for Hill than the Raiders gave up for Adams and are paying him considerably more money despite his track record of injuries and off-the-field issues.
This is all great news for the Raiders because it makes their decision to bring in Adams at that price even better in hindsight and it takes away one of the biggest threats in the division. The Chiefs brought in Juju Smith-Schuster and will likely draft a receiver with one of their early picks but even the best rookie receiver will not compare to what Hill brought to every game. Not having to account for that world-class speed will change how the Raiders game plan for the Chiefs and, not to sound flippant, will make them much easier to defend.
With the Tyreek Hill news dropping the only way this week could get better for Raiders fans is if Travis Kelce decides to retire and Patrick Mahomes chooses to focus on playing baseball instead of football. Those things seem likely at the moment but neither did the Chiefs trading away the best deep threat in the NFL so a guy can dream.