Tyreek Hill is now a Miami Dolphin.
With that reality still setting in for much of the football world, Hill took the podium for the first time in aqua and orange on Thursday. He told reporters his choice of destination was always going to be Miami "no matter what," where he feels at home and believes the Dolphins are committed to contending.
"It's like they said with the Rams: 'Eff them picks, man.' Eff them picks at the end of the day," Hill said of Miami's trade to bring him to South Florida. "Bringing (tackle) Terron (Armstead) in, they definitely want to put all the right pieces around the quarterback because the quarterback is the most important player on the field. Having myself, Terron and a few more other pieces that were already here, like you definitely can tell that the owner wants to win, coach (Mike) McDaniel, (general manager) Chris Grier, all of those guys want to win. We're all looking forward to the challenge, to the journey and I can't wait to work."
Quarterback is especially crucial to Hill's new chapter. After spending the last four seasons running all over the field as part of a high-flying offense led by all-world quarterback Patrick Mahomes, Tua Tagovailoa is now the man tasked with getting the ball to Hill. It's a downgrade from one of the top five quarterbacks in the NFL, of course, but Tagovailoa's evaluation remains incomplete.
Hill has seen enough to be convinced he's in the right situation.
"Tua is one of the most accurate quarterbacks in the NFL," Hill said. "So just his ball placement, getting us the ball in space -- you know, perfect placement -- and us utilizing our speed. Utilizing our best asset, and that's just being dangerous."
The man in charge of utilizing his offense's new weapons will be first-year coach Mike McDaniel, who brings with him a reputation for offensive innovation. While working under Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco, McDaniel deployed receiver Deebo Samuel in a number of creative ways, maximizing Samuel's game-changing ability and opening the eyes of offensive coordinators elsewhere to the potent potential of offenses with players like Samuel.
Hill believes he can fill a similar role under McDaniel in Miami.
"I'm gonna just say this: The way that he utilized Deebo Samuel in that offense was crazy, right?" Hill said. "Deebo Samuel is a freak athlete, right? So, I'm just excited -- that's all I'm going to say."
Hill has a history of making a field-tilting impact. In Kansas City, he was a lethal threat in every area of the field, and Andy Reid similarly maximized his potential within the Chiefs' creative offense. Without this combination, it's fair to believe Hill wouldn't have attracted the lucrative extension that came with his trade to Miami.
"It's tough. But (when) somebody comes to you with a lot of money, it changes," Hill said of leaving the Chiefs. "Feelings start to change a little bit. ... It definitely was tough. I definitely had one of those moments where like I just had to get in my car and just drive and just really think about those moments that I had in K.C. with my family, with my coaches, players.
"I even had a conversation with Pat. That's my brother for life. No matter what. We don't even gotta be on the same team. Pat, (Travis) Kelce and whole lot of other guys -- (Gehrig) Dieter, D-Rob (Demarcus Robinson) -- I can name a whole lot of other guys. I'm going to miss those guys. I know those guys are still gone ball because they're Hall of Famers and they still gonna do their thing. Coach Reid, he's going to do his thing, too."
Hill expects to do his thing even better in Miami, where he believes opposing defenses are going to have an even more difficult time keeping him under wraps.
"Especially in the heat? It's going to be crazy, man," Hill said. "Look, they better warm up, put ice on them, do whatever they gotta do. Because it's going to be a long season, but it's going to be a fun season. I'm excited."
