Dolphins’ Tyreek Hill explains what has changed for him and his plan to break NFL record

Eight NFL players have rushed for 2000 yards in a season.

But 2000 receiving yards in a single season?

That remains the Holy Grail for NFL wide-outs, a feat that Tyreek Hill is determined to conquer.

If that magic number doesn’t monopolize his thoughts, it certainly fuels him.

In June, Hill announced on his podcast that he will cross the 2000 yard threshold this season.

“I will break 2,000 yards next year, bro,” Hill said. “2,000 yards was on my bucket list to get before I leave this league ... 2,000 yards and another Super Bowl; we getting that. Believe that.”

The topic came up again last week, when Hill explained why he’s equipped to enjoy even more success this season after catching 119 passes for 1710 yards in his first year with Miami.

“Last year, I was just out there running routes and just getting open,” he said. “But this year, I completely understand the offense, and how to use leverage against DBs and know where I need to be at in certain coverages. Everything has slowed down man.”

And what does that translate to?

“Two-thousand yards. That’s what it translates to, 2,000 yards.”

He’ll also need some good fortune, including staying healthy and avoiding a suspension from the NFL, which continues to investigation his confrontation with a man at a marina. (Hill and the man reached a settlement, and Hill won’t face criminal charges.)

The NFL record for receiving yards in a season is 1,964, set by former Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson Jr. in 2012. Conversely, eight men have rushed for 2000 yards in a season: OJ Simpson, Eric Dickerson, Barry Sanders, Terrell Davis, Jamal Lewis, Chris Johnson, Adrian Peterson and Derrick Henry (the most recent to do it, in 2020).

Hill ended last October on pace to top 2000 yards, but with Tua Tagovailoa sidelined, he had just 77 combined receiving yards in the final two games of the regular season.

Hill produced 1408 receiving yards in games that Tagovailoa started, a pace that would have left him at 1841 if projected over 17 games. Tagovailoa missed four starts, and Hill had big numbers in only one of those four games: a 12-catch, 177-yard eruption against Minnesota.

“Last year, I was just out there balling,” he said. “I was just out there just using all athleticism. Like, ‘Here, Tua, I’m going to be here and we’re just going to do that.’

“When I come out here to practice, to me it’s not all about running fast anymore. Now it’s all about getting open and being in the right spots for my guy Tua, or whoever is in at quarterback at the moment. As you saw [last week], I was out there coasting, trying to find ways to get open, trying to be like Travis Kelce-ish. Just learning the game a little bit more, trying to control the tempo for myself.”

Hill’s high mark for receiving yards in six seasons in Kansas City was 1479 yards in 2018. But the Chiefs never threw him as many passes as the Dolphins did last season.

He was targeted 137, 89, 135 and 159 times in his final four seasons with the Chiefs. The Dolphins targeted him 170 times last season, and his 119 catches topped his previous career high of 111, set with Kansas City in 2021.

His 14.4 yards per catch average last season was just the fourth-highest of his career, but surpassed his 13.9 career mark. And he exceeded 1700 yards even though his yards after catch average (4.1) was second-lowest in the past five years, per Pro Football Reference.

“I feel like I’ve got the right tools around me,” he said. “I’ve got obviously the most accurate quarterback in the NFL... I’m really looking forward to seeing what he’s going to do this year. I know he’s going to do very exciting things this year.”

And “I’ve got one of the best head coaches in the NFL and also my position coach [Wes Welker] is a monster also…. I want to break the record and I do want to break the record. So I feel like this is one of those years that I can achieve it.”

Though the 2000 yard mark drives him and fascinates him, he also makes clear that “my first goal is to win a championship here, to bring something special to Miami.”

He said if he wins a championship here, he would want to enter the Hall of Fame as a Dolphin, not a Chief.

“Oh yeah, for sure,” he said. “Obviously I have a lot of history down in Kansas City. Shoutout to those guys down there. Andy (Reid), Brett Veach, John Dorsey, Mr. Clark (Hunt). Those guys brought me in and gave me a chance. A young kid from south Georgia that they believed in.

“But I feel like here is much more special. You’re in a great city with a bunch of legends. Being able to do something here similar to what the ‘72 team did would be remarkable.”

And what about his comment earlier this offseason that he plans to retire, at 32, when his contract expires after 2026?

“I can continue to play this game forever, I feel like,” he answered. “I’m feeling great. Obviously I’m still fast. My dad had a chance to talk with me the past two years. He told me, ‘you can make all the money in the world, but what is it for if you’re not able to spend it? You don’t want to spend your whole life working. You want to be able to enjoy your life.’

“That’s kind of what I’ve been doing. I’ve been traveling the world. I was able to go to three countries this offseason… I’m enjoying life, having fun.”

Incidentally, Hill and Jaylen Waddle, together, came close last season to the record for most receiving yards by a tandem, with 3066.

Herman Moore and Brett Perriman hold that record with 3174 yards, for the 1995 Detroit Lions.

Hill and Waddle are third, just behind Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce, who combined for 3106 receiving yards for the 2000 St. Louis Rams.