Ladies and Gentlemen, Tyreek Hill of the Kansas City Chiefs has left the building. Poof. He is gone.
This is one of the most painful things I’ve had to type out on this website. The only thing worse would be Travis Kelce leaving, but let’s pray that doesn’t happen.
Not many Chiefs fans seem optimistic about Tyreek going to the Miami Dolphins. This much is obvious: he is – or, well, was – the number one receiver on KC’s team. Not only that, but his skill set is completely unique and Hill has football Moxy. Hill was there for Patrick Mahomes from the beginning and has made huge contributions to the team that not every player has, or will.
As it stands, the Chiefs now have Juju Smith-Schuster and they are probably already planning on how to use Mecole Hardman to replace part of the plays that require deep speed that Hill provided. Hardman and Hill ran the 40 with only a fractional difference. The acquisition of Smith-Schuster was great news. We obtained an awesome, huge power player. It is not enough to cover the loss of Tyreek Hill. JuJU’s skill set needs a player of Hills caliber to play opposite routes to the deep threat and since he doesn’t have that deep speed, he is not a replacement of the #1 WR role on the Chiefs. Smith-Schuster does possess over-the-top speed for a #1 WR. What will happen? Veach solved one exposure that has existed since Sammy Watkins departed, only now we have that “possession-type” WR but no #1 WR. Good Grief. We will have to find out what happens and only time will tell.
What we do know, is that with Tyreek Hill in the team, Juju would’ve technically been a great fit. Interviewing an avid football fan, Denzel Maxey, who is also a member of the ArrowheadOne community, he had this to say (before Tyreek’s departure):
“Honestly, the bottom line is that Juju does better as a secondary. Thankfully you have Tyreek Hill as the primary, and he’s no stranger to touching the football, but having Juju as a secondary superpower will skyrocket the team’s success.”
I returned to question him shortly after news broke of Tyreek Hill’s trade to the Dolphins,
“Well…that’s tragic…Tyreek is huge for the Chiefs. It’s no doubt one of the biggest losses y’all could experience right now, but it’s not all bad. You have Juju, and you still have a few less present but ever-evolving forces like Mecole Hardman. Is it tough that Tyreek Hill is leaving? Yes. Is it possible that Juju in turn does worse as the primary wide receiver? Yes. Does that mean that your offense is done? Not at all. You still have Kelce, you still have Mahomes, and you still have a lot of folks on that team that may not have flashy reputations, but that comes in clutch during the playoff season and especially important games. It’s not over for the Chiefs. Is it going to be harder with Tyreek gone, Tyrann has gone, and no huge additions? It definitely could be, but the offseason is still ongoing and it ain’t even close to the preseason, so there’s still plenty of time for KC to make some moves. I think they know they’re starting to bleed, but they still have time to stop the bleeding.”
Well said Denzel!
Tyreek is huge for the team. Just this past year, he had 111 receptions, which is third overall, right behind Coooper Krupp and Davante Adams. He had the seventh-most yards and was targeted 159 times. He was clearly appreciated by Mahomes, but I think the bottom line with this team is we’re not the youngest but thankfully not the oldest. Kansas City still has plenty of fuel in their tank, and the Chief’s community is radiating with positivity, even with the gloomy outlook of Tyreek leaving the team.
We’ve got some new strong safeties, defense isn’t going away, we’ve drafted Juju which is going to be a huge boost with Tyreek gone, so I don’t think it’s all for nothing. Like I have previously observed here at ArrowheadOne, the offseason is still young. It’s a crazy time for everyone and every team, and moves are still going to be made.
Further looking into the emotional void that one might feel with Tyreek’s loss, reading over the above statement, I will agree that it’s the Chiefs Kingdom. Though the Tyreek news hurts, at the end of the day, we did all we could, and it’s not our fault that Tyreek is leaving. Hey, look at it this way: as weird and cheesy and ugly as this sounds, the LA Rams won the last Super Bowl without Tyreek Hill. I don’t mean to stir the pot in any way, but I’m just saying that we’re not dead in the water.
The Chiefs Kingdom is strong, is forever, and with the offseason still in fifth gear, I think we have plenty of time to make up for the tragic loss of Tyreek Hill.
Even with all this said, one thing remains true no matter what: We thank Tyreek for his service to us, we appreciate all he has done, and we wish him the best in his future endeavors. He didn’t leave on a sour note and has always been respectful to the team and the fans. Hill also recognized the Chiefs organization and the fans.
Thank you Tyreek Hill! You will be missed!
Chief Dennis – ArrowheadOne