Tyreek Hill explains what Dolphins really needed, his trolling and trade philosophy

A six-pack of Dolphins notes on a Monday:

▪ When Tyreek Hill visited ESPN’s sprawling Connecticut headquarters last week, he spoke about Tua Tagovailoa’s contract situation and to an extent, his own.

But he also made a good point regarding one shortcoming in the Dolphins’ offense that has seemingly been addressed.

“Offensively, we were missing a few key pieces,” he told Laura Rutledge on NFL Live. “For us, things that we can get better at that sticks out to me is third down situations.

“Adding a guy like Odell Beckham, being able to beat one on one coverage, going against the third corner, is going to be a huge advantage for our offense. No other guy, I feel like, can step into that role and take ownership of it like Odell would be able to.”

The Dolphins were 12th in third down conversion percentage last season, at 40.2.

Over the past two seasons, when Hill and Jaylen Waddle were blanketed - either by top cornerbacks, double coverage or two high safety looks - Tua Tagovailoa often couldn’t find answers elsewhere.

Though Cedrick Wilson Jr. and Braxton Berrios had their moments, the receivers and tight ends couldn’t consistently create enough separation, and drives often stalled as a result.

The additions of Beckham and tight end Jonnu Smith should improve that situation.

Here’s some data - and advanced metrics - to chew on:

1). Last season, of Beckham’s 35 receptions for Baltimore, 27 of them went for first downs. That’s 77.1 percent.

By contrast, the players who primarily served as Miami’s No. 3 and No. 4 receivers last season - Wilson Jr. and Berrios - saw only 59.1 percent of their receptions go for first downs (29 for 49 combined).

2). In Smith, the Dolphins signed the tight end who had the NFL’s fourth-best average separation from the nearest defender last season, per Next Gen Stats. Smith averaged 3.9 yards per separation per route run. By comparison, tight end Mike Gesicki was at 3.1 in 2022, his only year in Mike McDaniel’s offense.

Beckham averaged 2.7 yards of separation last season, compared with 3.4 for Waddle and 3.3 for Hill.

3). In terms of getting open, ESPN Analytics ranked Hill fourth, Waddle 24th and Beckham 34th last season. No other Dolphin receiver was in the top 90.

ESPN’s overall analytics of their play last season ranked Beckham 27th, Berrios 75th and Wilson 95th. Berrios remains on the Dolphins; Wilson now plays for New Orleans.

4). In yards per reception, Beckham was eighth in the league at 16.1. Among Dolphins receivers last season, Hill was at 15.1 and Waddle at 14.1 (albeit with far more receptions than Beckham’s 35), while Wilson was at 13.5, River Cracraft 13.4, Berrios 8.8 and Chase Claypool 6.5.

5). Pro Football Reference has a statistic called successful receptions and describes it this way: “A successful reception gains at least 40 percent of yards required on first downs, 60 percent on second and 100 percent on third or fourth.”

Waddle was at 58.7 percent and Hill 57.9. Beckham was at 50 percent, compared with 47.4 for Wilson last season.

Smith was at 51.4 percent, compared with 48.1 in Gesicki’s final season here.

6). Here’s another area where Smith really helps: He led all NFL tight ends in average YAC (yards after catch) per reception over the past three seasons, including 7.3 last season. Conversely, Miami’s tight ends averaged 3.0 in YAC last season, which was worst in the league.

“I believe we had an A plus offseason,” Hill said. “The reason being is because [general manager] Chris Grier and our head coach Mike McDaniel went into the offseason and [said] we’re going to correct a lot of things.”

▪ The Dolphins had the NFL’s third best percentage in converting red zone forays into touchdowns, at 65.2 percent - behind only the 49ers and Lions.

In the passing game, there is still work to be done in that area.

Hill caught 7 of 15 red zone targets last season, with three TDs. Waddle caught 2 of 6, with both going for TDs. Beckham, in Baltimore, caught 2 of 7 for one touchdown.

As for Smith… In the red zone, he has been thrown 38 passes during the past four seasons and caught 23 of them, with 10 touchdowns.

▪ While Hill clearly would prefer a new contract with a pay raise, he made clear on ESPN that he’s not going to complain if he is not given one. And he’s certainly not going to ask for a trade, he said.

“I told my agent, don’t get me traded this time,” Hill said, a reference to 2022, when he authorized Drew Rosenhaus to explore trades when Kansas City wouldn’t give him a lucrative new deal.

“I don’t want to leave Miami. So whatever it takes, I’m very content where I am right now. I love the team. I love the head coach. I love the organization, the way I’m able to take my family everywhere and be the guy I want to be, be my own person. I don’t want to leave. I’m very content. If they decide to keep me where I am [contractually], I’m content.

“If they decide, ‘you know, ‘Reek we gonna give you a pay raise,’ there you go, man. I know it’s going to happen. All I’ve got to do is stay the course, focus on winning games, helping this organization in January and February. I think everything is going to pay off.”

Hill has 238 receptions for 3,509 yards and 20 touchdowns the past two seasons for the Dolphins.

▪ Asked by Rutledge about playing in Mike McDaniel’s offense, Hill said:

“It’s a lot of fun to watch but being a part of it is not like the funnest. When you watch our offense, there is always a fast guy in motion. And that fast guy is typically myself. I’m so tired. I’m running a route before the play starts. You running me in motion to the left and then I’ve got to run 17 [yards].

“It’s fun though. Once you understand his mindset and whole philosophy, it’s absolutely fun. We know every week you have to be prepared to add a new play.. He’s going to bring something from another team but he’s going to spin it in his way to make it the Miami Dolphin way. That’s the fun part about it because you’re always learning in this system.”

▪ What about Hill last week including Baker Mayfield among his top 5 NFL quarterbacks, with Tagovailoa, Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson and Dak Prescott?

“I like trolling and making people mad,” he said of the list overall. “I knew all the Bills fans would say, ‘You know Josh Allen knows you.’ That’s the fun part of it, riling people up.

“We all know Patrick and Tua are the top two quarterbacks in the NFL. You got Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, a lot of great guys. People got to understand who I am as a person. I’m a troll. I started a whole uproar and then I left.”

▪ Pro Football Network ranked five Dolphins in their list of top 100 players:

Hill was 7th; Jalen Ramsey 36th; Tagovailoa 66th; Waddle 77th and Jevon Holland 79th.