The Miami Dolphins have officially hit the offseason, which is also known as the “silly season” with the amount of rumors that circle around the league. But speculation centered on Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill isn’t likely to be considered “silly” in 2025.
Hill told reporters after Week 18 that he will pursue leaving the Dolphins this offseason.
That complicates Miami’s offseason plans. Perhaps the organization can patch things up with Hill. But NFL pundits have already begun suggesting offseason trade destinations for 5-time All-Pro.
On January 7, Bleacher Report’s Mitch Milani also had a suggestion for how the Dolphins replace Hill.
In a video covering early NFL offseason trade ideas, Milani urged the Dolphins to ship Hill to the Dallas Cowboys in one move and then acquire Deebo Samuel in another blockbuster deal with the San Francisco 49ers.
“Deebo Samuel to the Miami Dolphins. Why I think this make sense is, not only would they be able to trade Tyreek Hill and replace him, but if you watched Miami this year, they utilized Tyreek a lot less in the offense,” argued Milani. “They shifted their offense to being very quick pass, yards after catch oriented, and Deebo’s game is yards after catch.
“He is the YAC God. That’s what Deebo has done throughout his career.”
Milani wasn’t sure either wide receiver would warrant a first-round pick this offseason. He argued the Dolphins might be able to land Samuel for a third-round selection.
Samuel posted 51 catches for 670 receiving yards with 3 touchdowns in 2024. He also rushed for 136 yards and a touchdown on 42 carries.
Hill had 81 catches for 959 receiving yards with 6 touchdowns this past season. Although his statistics were superior to Samuel’s, Hill averaged just 11.8 yards per reception, which was his second-lowest over the past eight years.
Would Deebo Samuel Fit Better Than Tyreek Hill in Dolphins Offense?
On the surface, it’s a little hard to imagine a receiver fitting better than Hill has in Mike McDaniel’s offense. In 2023, Hill led the NFL with 1,799 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns.
The best statistical season of Hill’s career, he made first-team All-Pro for the fifth time during 2023.
Hill battled injuries throughout the 2024 campaign, which hurt his production. He also produced less without quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. Hill averaged 44.2 receiving yards per game in six contests without Tagovailoa in 2024.
But Milani is correct that the Dolphins offense also evolved this past season.
Tagovailoa finished last among 39 qualified quarterback with a 5.7 air yards per pass attempt average in 2024. No other signal caller was below 6 air yards per pass.
In 2023, Tagovailoa had a 7.7 air yards per pass attempt average. Tagovailoa was second in the NFL in that category with a 9.5 air yards per pass average during 2022, which was Hill’s first season with the Dolphins.
There are a few reasons why the Dolphins may have made this change in their offense. Tagovailoa has dealt with multiple concussions in his career. Miami may have moved to a quick-passing offense to protect its quarterback from unnecessary hits.
Opposing defenses also played a lot more high safeties versus the Dolphins in 2024 after Hill burned them often the previous season.
Finally, the Dolphins also struggled to run the ball in 2024. Miami’s rushing attack was 28th in yards per carry.
Tagovailoa’s quick-passing attack acted as an extension to the running game.
The Dolphins still have the pieces to stretch the field vertically. McDaniel could make Hill and the deep passing game a bigger part of the offense again in 2024.
But if the plan is to stick with the quick-passing attack, then Samuel could be a better fit.
Samuel has posted at least 420 yards after catch during each of the past four seasons. Hill eclipsed that mark too during his first two seasons with the Dolphins. But he only had 292 yards after catch in 2024.
Could the Dolphins Trade Hill?
Hill’s frustration from the disappointing 2024 season boiled over during his Week 18 postgame media session.
“I’m opening the door. I’m out, bro,” Hill told reporters, via The Miami Herald’s Omar Kelly. “It was great playing here, but at the end of the day, I got to do what’s best for my career.”
Whether the Dolphins will fulfill that request remains to be seen. But Hill’s remarks opens up the real possibility of trade rumors throughout this offseason.
Milani went big with his suggestion that the Cowboys are a potential landing spot.
“Of all the teams that are picking in the top 18, the one team that actually makes the most sense to trade for Tyreek Hill,” said Milani. “He is getting older. He is a little bit of a locker room dynamic that you need to swallow.
“But this does make sense to me. The Dallas Cowboys, when you really watch them, and especially if you watch them without CeeDee Lamb, they just lack that dynamic, electric play-maker. Even with CeeDee Lamb on their offense, it feels like they’re missing something.
“They’re missing another playmaker, another separator at wide receiver, another guy that can just make a big play in a big moment.”
Milani added that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones could feel pressure this offseason to make a major splash after he didn’t do that last offseason.
Even after failing to reach 1,000 yards in 2024, Hill would be that for the Cowboys.
Although Milani questioned whether Hill would be worth a first-round pick, he implied the Dolphins could ship Hill to Dallas and then acquire Samuel from the 49ers and still have more draft capital than they had before the two trades.
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