New Rules Won’t Slow Tyreek Hill Down
Jim Rassol / USA TODAY NETWORK
It’s training camp season, and Tyreek Hill is already off to a running start. Just don’t expect that to continue once Week 1 rolls around.
Last season, Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel put a plan into motion — literally. He would have Hill go “in motion” pre-snap, having him move from one spot on the line of scrimmage to another, which is perfectly legal. It was also perfectly legal for the Dolphins to snap the ball while Hill was in motion, effectively giving Hill a running start instead of starting the play from a stop.
Mike McDaniel used "cheat" motion 7 times in Week 1, mainly with Tyreek Hill.
Sean McVay & Kyle Shanahan come back the next week and run a similar concept with Tutu Atwell and Deebo Samuel.
The motion gives the WR a running start into his route.
It's a copycat league. pic.twitter.com/NmOan6gK1S
— Kyle Posey (@KP_Show) September 28, 2023
Hill got a head-start on the field, in addition to a heck of a head-start on the stat sheet. The speedster already posted the (then-)11th-highest yardage total for a receiver in a single season in his first year as a Dolphin, with 1,710. Last year, as Miami implemented the “cheat” motion, Hill racked up 1,799 yards, the seventh-most in NFL history. This was despite Hill missing a game. Hill’s yardage per game increased from 100.6 to 112.4, and his touchdown output nearly doubled from seven to 13.
But while the Philadelphia Eagles get to keep their “Tush Push,” the NFL saw fit to legislate Miami’s signature gray area out of the game. Any receiver that goes into a motion without coming to a full stop before the snap will be flagged for a false start.
What did Hill think about the rulebook tweak one could easily call “The Tyreek Hill Rule?”
“That’s my first time hearing about that,” he said after practice Thursday. But whether or not the rule change was news to him, Hill was confident that it wouldn’t break his stride. At least, metaphorically. “Our head coach, he’ll find a way to make a way around that. He does a great job of creating schemes for us to get open – that’s why he’s one of the best offensive-minded coaches in the game, because he does a great job of creating these motions…. I feel like we ain’t going to have a problem with that.”
Who can call him a liar? Before McDaniel implemented the “cheat motion,” Hill, as previously mentioned, was already a 1,700-yard receiver. This was in Miami, so Hill did this without Patrick Mahomes throwing to him as he did in Kansas City (where his career-high was 1,479 yards, or 92.4 per game), and with Jaylen Waddle getting 117 targets opposite him.
McDaniel showed his offensive genius in 2022 every bit as much as he showed it last year. While he got some pushback from this rules change, it’s clear that the “cheat motion” — or “speed motion,” or whatever you want to call it — isn’t the only trick in his bag as he continues to innovate and push the limits of the rulebook. Hill hints that we’ll see even more new wrinkles from McDaniel.
“Every day I got to be prepared, because there’s like all kinds of motions in this offense,” Hill told the media. “We’ve got some plays that’s going to wow teams, because teams are already looking for certain motions whenever I line up a certain way or Waddle lines up a certain way. So we do have a few packages or few motions that’s going to be like, ‘Oh, where did that come from?’”
That’s not all defenses have to worry about, either. With Odell Beckham Jr. now in the fold, the Dolphins enter camp with three receivers who are able to torch the opposition. Age and injuries slowed down Beckham Jr., who missed a full season in 2022 following an ACL tear. Still, he came back last year and averaged 16.1 yards per catch in his time with the Baltimore Ravens.
Hill glowed over the possibilities his new teammate offers. “He’s one of those guys who can make plays everywhere on the field. Just having his energy, his presence on the field with me and Waddle… I know Tua (Tagovailoa) is going to do a great job finding him.” You know McDaniel is going to find a way to get Beckham Jr. open, as well.
So, one tool got taken away from Hill and McDaniel. So what? Hill’s speed and McDaniel’s schemes are going to find a way to make sure Hill gets his yards… and a lot more. Short of a rule stating that Hill must come to a complete stop before the snap, and stay that way until after the whistle, he’s not slowing down.
Or in Hill’s words, “It’s going to be fun this year, man.”
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