It almost goes without saying that the Kansas City Chiefs wunderkind rookie speed demon Tyreek Hill will be getting more touches in the 2017 season. A better question might be how much or what kind? The exciting part is, Tyreek Hill will be touching the ball more and that will not only make the offense better but should make his teammates better too.
In a fantasy piece written for CBS Sports by Jamey Eisenberg called, “Fantasy Football: Tyreek Hill headed for expanded Year 2 role in Kansas City” he quotes the Chiefs head coach Andy Reid in a Sirius Radio interview at the Pro Bowl when he said,
“Maybe he can double that or at least take it up a couple notches and allow him to get in more in a starting role. We use him a lot on special teams, obviously. When he came to us, that’s what we originally thought we had. He then said, ‘Listen, I can do this offensive thing.’ He’s innately a smart kid. We kept adding to it, and he got it. I’d expect him to learn that whole (playbook) by the end of all the OTAs and training camp and then be even more of a threat.”
More of a threat?
Wow, it’s hard to imagine Hill being more of the threat but there are ways he could be included in the mainstream offense more and I see that role being as a wide out. In a limited role in 2016, Hill was the Chiefs leading wide receiver with 593 receiving yards.
That bodes well for an offense needing a kick in the pants. Travis Kelce was the team’s leading overall receiver with 1,125 yards and in 2017 we can expect Kelce to be Kelce but if Hill becomes more of a deep threat and stretches the field Kelce could become even more effective and productive. The same goes for wide receiver Jeremy Maclin. Maclin had a miserable year compared to his 2015 number: from 1,088 down to 536. If Maclin can return to form and the running game gets some kind of healing — in the form of a drafted or free agent running back — then the Chiefs offense should be able to take a monumental leap in the right direction.
So, what kind of effect would it have on quarterback Alex Smith for the rest of the Chiefs primary playmakers to take a cumulative stride forward that could be expected as a result of the elevated play of Tyreek Hill? As teams adjust to the speed of Hill by sending more defensive players into space to protect against his big play potential, Alex Smith could end up looking like a totally different quarterback. One with more choices in the pocket… more time because the opposition may be sending less pressure… and more wide-open choices because more defensive resources will be sent Hill’s way.
Jamey Eisenberg goes on to speculate that Tyreek’s increased role will not include time as a running back. Once again, he quotes Andy Reid,
“He’s not real big — he’s not over 200 pounds. To ask him to do that … I don’t think that’s where you’re going to make your living with him.”
I don’t take the signing of RB C.J. Spiller as an indication that John Dorsey and Andy Reid are done upgrading the running back position this offseason.
The #Chiefs have signed RB C.J. Spiller.
— Terez A. Paylor (@TerezPaylor) February 24, 2017
You could say the signing of Spiller is just a clue that they’re in the long process of making over that position. In any event, the increased role for Tyreek Hill in Andy Reid’s West Coast offense is one lock you can count on in 2017. If JARD (John-Andy-Reid-Dorsey) can upgrade the running back position, then the offense — with or without an improved OL — should make great strides.
Now, that’s something to get excited about!