Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill is chasing down Hall of Famer Calvin Johnson and his NFL record for receiving yards in a single season.
Johnson posted a whopping 1,964 receiving yards in 2012 with the Detroit Lions, becoming the first wideout in league history with more than 1,900 receiving yards in a single season. It wasn’t until last season that another receiver accomplished the feat, with Los Angeles’ Cooper Kupp racking up 1,947 receiving yards.
However, neither of those marks are not what are in Hill’s sights — “Cheetah” wants to hit 2,000.
Hill appeared on the latest edition of “Club Shay Shay,” where he discussed how reaching 2,000 receiving yards was a mutual goal for him and first-year head coach Mike McDaniel.
“Bro, I’ma go here, and I’ma have the best year in my career,” Hill said of his mindset before the season. “So when I got there, that’s what me and Coach McDaniel was talking about. He was like, ‘Bro, we gonna get 2,000, bro.’ That’s the first thing he said to me. I’m like, ‘Man, you must be reading my mind.’ I’m not one of them dudes to get paid and just shed a dime. I want to continue to get better.”
Hill has 1,460 receiving yards and six receiving touchdowns on 100 receptions across 13 games. He would need 560 yards over the next four games to reach 2,000, an average of 140 receiving yards per game.
In order to match Johnson, he would need 126 receiving yards per game.
Of the Dolphins’ four remaining games this season, three come against teams that are top-10 in opponent passing yards (Green Bay Packers, New England Patriots and New York Jets) and the other is against the AFC East-leading Buffalo Bills.
Miami’s wide receivers coach is Wes Welker, a five-time Pro-Bowler who led the league in receptions three times and spent two and a half seasons of his NFL career with the Dolphins.
Hill referenced Welker as part of the reason for his success this season.
“[Welker] literally holds me accountable every day,” Hill said. “As a player, I need that sometimes. I know I can get lazy. I can get complacent and where I am. And he’ll be like, ‘Reek, I need you to wake up, I need you to realize we only got one shot to do this. So let’s get back to work, let’s focus on the details and fundamentals and let’s keep grinding, baby, because we need you.'”
Miami acquired Hill from the Kansas City Chiefs, where he spent the first six seasons of his NFL career and won Super Bowl LIV. Across his six seasons in Kansas City (2016-21), Hill averaged 1,105 receiving yards and 9.3 receiving touchdowns on 79.8 receptions per season.
Miami is 8-5, second in the AFC East and the No. 2 AFC wild card. When asked about potentially facing Kansas City in the playoffs, Hill said that he “still got love” for the organization, but it’s “Showtime” and “the Cheetah will be arriving in Kansas City or in Miami” if they face each other.
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