Miami Dolphins Coach Declares All-Pro "Night and Day Ahead" of Last Season

It's difficult to believe Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill could improve on his jaw-dropping 2022 season, but that's exactly what his coaches are expecting. On Wednesday afternoon, head coach Mike McDaniel took the time to ease concerns about a minor ailment keeping Hill out of practice and expressed confidence in Hill's health and readiness moving forward.

Asked McDaniel about the thinking behind keeping Tyreek Hill out of team reps yesterday. His answer: pic.twitter.com/FPTfX68Tn9
— Adam Beasley (@AdamHBeasley) June 7, 2023

“Tyreek is probably the least I’m worried about him being physically able to perform his tasks, and I will say he’s been executing his assignments in walkthroughs,” McDaniel said. “He is putting his best foot forward, is night and day ahead of where he was last year with regard to the offense and has his mind set on improving and being even better from last year, which is the only place we want.”

Hill was sensational in his debut season with the Dolphins after coming over via trade from the Kansas City Chiefs, finishing with a career-high 1710 receiving yards with an exceptionally efficient 10.1 yards per target. His arrival also coincided with a massive leap overall by the Dolphins offense; after ranking 25th in yards gained in 2021, the Dolphins climbed all the way to 6th in 2022.

Expecting Hill to improve on his massive 2022 performance is an incredibly exciting prospect but ultimately unrealistic. He may be more comfortable, he may be more confident, but ultimately, the league will force a regression.

In his four years playing with Patrick Mahomes on the Chiefs, Hill never exceeded his breakout first year with the two-time MVP quarterback. Hill's 1479 receiving yards in 2018 were a career-high until his arrival in Miami, and the Chiefs offense has never approached the dizzying heights it achieved in that season again (a franchise record 35.3 points per game). Sometimes, the novelty of an offensive connection is its most valuable asset. Inevitably, that fades with time.

Still, it's not like everything went as planned for the Dolphins in 2022. Starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suffered multiple concussions and ultimately missed four games. With better injury luck and deepened chemistry, the Dolphins could improve, and that could be a spectacular sight to see.