More great analysis, Seth. It's great to have such a multi-talented rock star who changes the game when he steps on the field. I'm nitpicking a little here, but do you think he is still making too many body catches? The drop at the end of the first half against the Bengals stands out.
He has had a lot of drops this year, I don't recall any other seasons where he had a lot of drops. If he only had half as many his stats would be even better.
I couldn't agree more, Seth. I tell anyone who will listen what a unique and incredible talent Tyreek is. He responded to the extreme shift to coverage by setting the club record for grabs in less than a full campaign. The great ones will always have something you can't take away.
Only complain with Hill as a receiver is how poor he is at using his hands to catch. More of a trapper than a catcher. His ability to track and adjust to balls is also super underrated. Just the hands is only complaint.
One of the most dynamic players ever IMO. I really hope the chiefs try and extend him this off season. I know it would be smart for him to wait and see where the market is but if I was veach I would basically write him a blank check.
While you're correct that he rounds a lot of his routes, there may be a method to that madness. In all the gifs here he takes that one extra step up field causing that rounding action. But that in turn makes the defender unable to drive on the route actually making him more open. Just a thought
The way the Chiefs used him in the Denver game, putting him in when they needed a crucial first down despite his injury, shows just how valuable he has become in that role. It’s been gradually increasing for a couple of years but this season it has really stood out. He’s such an athletic freak that his intelligence gets overlooked. He was primarily a RB in college IIRC, so he’s had to learn the nuances of playing WR and has succeeded beyond all expectations.
Possession receiver? You betcha. After injuring himself in pregame warm-ups, he was barely on the field. When he was on the field, it was obvious he was being the good soldier in an effort to help the team any way possible despite being far less than 100%. His line: 1 catch for 2 yards. But that catch came on a critical 4th and 1 to move the chains and retain possession. Huge play in a key moment that also highlights his increased level of maturity since first entering the league.
This stat shocked me. YAC leaders for 2021-22 season:
1. Kupp - 846
7. Kelce - 564
9. Hardman - 502
17. Hill - 444
21. D. Williams - 435
This was the second site I looked at because I didn't believe the first one (NBC Sports which has Williams ahead of Hill). I would think with him catching short passes with space, Hill would be a lot higher than this. Hardman being that high blows my mind.
For Hardman, those are screens and check downs out of the backfield - note that in the last game he had 103 yds - w 99 YAC! Also that’s about 1/5 of his total
Hardman only has 693 yards on the year so his YAC is 72% of his total. He also rarely lines up in the backfield. But yes he gets thrown a lot of WR screens.
Isn't the defense being scared out of their jocks of Tyreek running past them making "Tyreek Hill, do Tyreek Hill things?" Just because he's not catching a 70-yard bomb once every couple of weeks shouldn't belittle how his presence has forced defenses to play more in coverage. I can guarantee this, based on your analysis of Hill's ability to adjust his route based on coverage, if the defense does cheat on him in any way, you can bet you'll see him light up the secondary like he did Carlton Davis in November 2020.
I'm glad you included the Kyle Brandt video. I just saw it yesterday and my first thought was that it was very hypocritical. All we've heard all year from the talking heads is that the Chiefs had to learn to take what the defense was giving them. They clearly did that very well and now they're saying this team isn't as scary because it takes them 12 plays to score instead of 5. Reminds of a joke I heard about a married couple. The husband was always mad, so the wife said "ok, I'm going to do whatever is asked of me today so he has nothing to complain about." She asks the husband what he wants for breakfast. He says "I want 2 eggs, 1 scrambled and 1 over easy." The wife makes him his eggs just as he asked and the husband is still angry. She asks "What could you possibly be mad about?" He looks at her and says "You scrambled the wrong egg!" Some people just can't be pleased.
More great analysis, Seth. It's great to have such a multi-talented rock star who changes the game when he steps on the field. I'm nitpicking a little here, but do you think he is still making too many body catches? The drop at the end of the first half against the Bengals stands out.
Keith "nitpicking" Rains . . .
He has had a lot of drops this year, I don't recall any other seasons where he had a lot of drops. If he only had half as many his stats would be even better.
Loved reading about our Cheetah. Wonderful article
A foot long sub is 12 dollars now? 😳
Half slab at Joe’s is just a tad more. I’ll take the ribs! 😋
Imagine Hill playing with Tom Brady as his QB. Julian Edelman on steroids.
Julian Edelman was on steroids 😉
He might be almost as good as if Mahomes were his quarterback.
I couldn't agree more, Seth. I tell anyone who will listen what a unique and incredible talent Tyreek is. He responded to the extreme shift to coverage by setting the club record for grabs in less than a full campaign. The great ones will always have something you can't take away.
Only complain with Hill as a receiver is how poor he is at using his hands to catch. More of a trapper than a catcher. His ability to track and adjust to balls is also super underrated. Just the hands is only complaint.
complaint**
One of the most dynamic players ever IMO. I really hope the chiefs try and extend him this off season. I know it would be smart for him to wait and see where the market is but if I was veach I would basically write him a blank check.
While you're correct that he rounds a lot of his routes, there may be a method to that madness. In all the gifs here he takes that one extra step up field causing that rounding action. But that in turn makes the defender unable to drive on the route actually making him more open. Just a thought
The way the Chiefs used him in the Denver game, putting him in when they needed a crucial first down despite his injury, shows just how valuable he has become in that role. It’s been gradually increasing for a couple of years but this season it has really stood out. He’s such an athletic freak that his intelligence gets overlooked. He was primarily a RB in college IIRC, so he’s had to learn the nuances of playing WR and has succeeded beyond all expectations.
One trick pony.....hhmmmnn...I like ponies
Possession receiver? You betcha. After injuring himself in pregame warm-ups, he was barely on the field. When he was on the field, it was obvious he was being the good soldier in an effort to help the team any way possible despite being far less than 100%. His line: 1 catch for 2 yards. But that catch came on a critical 4th and 1 to move the chains and retain possession. Huge play in a key moment that also highlights his increased level of maturity since first entering the league.
Truly great take that I haven't seen anywhere else.
This stat shocked me. YAC leaders for 2021-22 season:
1. Kupp - 846
7. Kelce - 564
9. Hardman - 502
17. Hill - 444
21. D. Williams - 435
This was the second site I looked at because I didn't believe the first one (NBC Sports which has Williams ahead of Hill). I would think with him catching short passes with space, Hill would be a lot higher than this. Hardman being that high blows my mind.
For Hardman, those are screens and check downs out of the backfield - note that in the last game he had 103 yds - w 99 YAC! Also that’s about 1/5 of his total
Hardman only has 693 yards on the year so his YAC is 72% of his total. He also rarely lines up in the backfield. But yes he gets thrown a lot of WR screens.
Great review as usual.
It's been a long day, help me out here, "ability to start and stop in a way that almost looks like it’s CJI,".... CJI?
hahahaha that's CGI. Typos strike again.
Isn't the defense being scared out of their jocks of Tyreek running past them making "Tyreek Hill, do Tyreek Hill things?" Just because he's not catching a 70-yard bomb once every couple of weeks shouldn't belittle how his presence has forced defenses to play more in coverage. I can guarantee this, based on your analysis of Hill's ability to adjust his route based on coverage, if the defense does cheat on him in any way, you can bet you'll see him light up the secondary like he did Carlton Davis in November 2020.
I'm glad you included the Kyle Brandt video. I just saw it yesterday and my first thought was that it was very hypocritical. All we've heard all year from the talking heads is that the Chiefs had to learn to take what the defense was giving them. They clearly did that very well and now they're saying this team isn't as scary because it takes them 12 plays to score instead of 5. Reminds of a joke I heard about a married couple. The husband was always mad, so the wife said "ok, I'm going to do whatever is asked of me today so he has nothing to complain about." She asks the husband what he wants for breakfast. He says "I want 2 eggs, 1 scrambled and 1 over easy." The wife makes him his eggs just as he asked and the husband is still angry. She asks "What could you possibly be mad about?" He looks at her and says "You scrambled the wrong egg!" Some people just can't be pleased.