Last season, Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill led the NFL with 1,799 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns. During the offseason, he was voted the best player in the league in a poll of players. In Week One, he caught seven passes for 130 yards and a touchdown and looked well on his way to another great year.
That hasn’t happened.
In Week Two, Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suffered a concussion that has kept him off the field since. And without Tagovailoa, Hill has been a complete non-factor. He didn’t catch any passes after Tagovailoa left the Week Two game, and since Week Three he has totaled just 14 catches for 140 yards and no touchdowns.
Hill is averaging 3.5 catches for 35 yards a game in the four games Tagovailoa didn’t start. Those aren’t No. 1 player in the NFL numbers. They’re not the numbers any team wants from its No. 1 receiver. Not even close.
The Dolphins’ inability to have anything resembling a competent offense since Tagovailoa went down is a major indictment of their offseason planning, failing to bring in a veteran backup quarterback who could hold the offense together. Joe Flacco, who has proven himself more than capable of filling in for an injured quarterback both last year in Cleveland and this year in Indianapolis, was available for a one-year, $5 million contract. Flacco’s big arm and Hill’s speed could be a lethal combination, but the Dolphins didn’t sign him.
The Dolphins’ offense is also an indictment of head coach Mike McDaniel, who has been totally incapable of adjusting his offense to the loss of his starting quarterback. The contrast between McDaniel and Packers head coach Matt LaFleur, who adjusted his offense for backup quarterback Malik Willis and went 2-0 without starting quarterback Jordan Love, couldn’t be more stark.
Tagovailoa is expected back this week, and Hill is thrilled. He should be. He’s been a non-factor without him.
