Tyreek Hill Says He Wanted Out Of Kansas City Because His 159 Targets Last Season Weren't Enough

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Tyreek Hill was certainly one of the focal points of the Kansas City Chiefs offense last season. But, in his mind, there's a big difference between ONE of the focal points and THE focal point.

There is no question that Tyreek Hill is the best offensive player the Miami Dolphins have. Jaylen Waddle is very good and will eventually take the crown. But right now, it's the Tyreek Hill show.

Even in a game on Sunday night where quarterback Tua Tagovailoa couldn't figure out how to get the ball anywhere near his receivers, Hill had a massive impact.

He made an incredibly heads-up play to scoop up a fumble and take it 57 yards for a touchdown. Later, he got so open in single coverage that even Tagovailoa couldn't miss him. He caught that pass down the sideline and took it 60 yards for the score.

Even Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa can't miss Tyreek Hill when he makes a defender hit the grass.

Even Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa can't miss Tyreek Hill when he makes a defender hit the grass. (Photo: LA Times via Getty Images)

Outside of Hill, the Dolphins produced 138 yards of offense.

Miami forces the ball to Tyreek Hill whenever possible, and that's how he's always wanted it

Hill appeared on Shannon Sharpe's podcast, "Club Shay Shay," and talked about why he felt it was time to leave Kansas City.

“I’m the type of guy, like, I love playing ball and I love being by the team, because football is a team sport, right?," Hill told Sharpe. "And it would be some games where, like, I’d get two targets, I’d get three targets. And we’d go into meetings and my coach would be like, ‘We’ve got to get you involved, we’ve got to get you involved.'”

Hill later said that he called his agent and told him to get him out of KC.

As far as his claim that he wasn't being targeted enough, on the surface that seems ridiculous. Hill had 159 targets last season, good for 9.4 targets/game. That ranked 7th in the NFL and he was obviously the most-targeted Chief.

However, he did have five games with five or fewer targets. That led to seven games with five or fewer receptions.

Miami does not have the luxury of not targeting Tyreek Hill and that has been borne out. He has 139 targets in 13 games so far in 2022, averaging double-digit looks per week. He's only three targets behind Las Vegas wide receiver Davante Adams and Minnesota's Justin Jefferson, who are tied for the NFL lead with 142 each.

There has been only one Dolphins' game where Hill did not record at least five targets and that was the team's narrow win over Buffalo in Week 3. Last season with Kansas City, Hill had six games where Patrick Mahomes targeted him at least 12 times.

Dolphins quarterbacks have targeted Hill at least 12 times seven times this season, already surpassing last year's total with four weeks left.

The guy just wants to help his team win. And he knows that putting the ball in his hands is the best way to do that.

Can you blame him?

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Dan began his sports media career at ESPN, where he survived for nearly a decade. Once the Stockholm Syndrome cleared, he made his way to Outkick. He is secure enough in his masculinity to admit he is a cat-enthusiast with three cats, one of which is named “Brady” because his wife wishes she were married to Tom instead of him.