ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Tyreek Hill has been a nightmare for the Buffalo Bills.
Not by himself, of course.
Quarterback/magician Patrick Mahomes played a mammoth role in the damage Hill inflicted on the Bills’ defense as a receiver for the Kansas City Chiefs. So did All-Everything tight end Travis Kelce. So did coach Andy Reid and an offense built for game-breaking plays.
Hill is with the Miami Dolphins now, thanks to another in a series of trades this offseason involving a massive haul of draft picks and staggering new contracts from the player’s new team. That means the Bills get to face him at least twice per season.
Should that be a concern for Buffalo?
If you focus on the 2020 AFC Championship Game – in which Hill caught nine passes for 172 yards (an average of 19.1 yards per catch), including one for 71 yards; and last January’s divisional-round playoff game, in which he caught 11 passes for 150 yards (an average of 13.6 yards per catch), including one for a 64-yard, run-after-catch touchdown – the short answer is yes.
Hill’s dynamic skills, marked by a stunning combination of speed and elusiveness, would figure to remain a problem for the Bills and other opponents that habitually struggle to contain him.
Here’s the longer answer: Hill won’t have Mahomes throwing to him, Kelce drawing coverage away from him, or Reid coaching him. He’s joining a terrible offense with a team that has hit the reset button.
Hill’s presence probably will help make that offense (which includes another speedy receiver in 2021 first-round pick Jaylen Waddle), and the team as a whole, better. That should serve as additional motivation, beyond the hole Levi Wallace’s free-agent departure created in the starting lineup, for the Bills to select a cornerback high in this year’s draft. Maybe with their current first-round pick, 25th overall. Maybe higher, if Brandon Beane makes an upward trade.
There’s also no ignoring the fact the Bills’ top corner, Tre’Davious White, is working his way back from a major knee injury he suffered on Thanksgiving night.
Still, it’s hard to imagine, with questions at quarterback (Tua Tagovailoa is unproven and could face stiff competition from newly acquired veteran Teddy Bridgewater) and with a rookie coach in Mike McDaniel, the Dolphins seeing anything close to a return commensurate with the five draft choices they gave the Chiefs for Hill, or the $72.2 million guaranteed they’re giving Hill.
In other words, don’t expect Hill’s arrival to do much, if anything, to narrow the gap between the Bills and Dolphins.
The trade doesn’t change the fact another AFC East championship is still the Bills’ to lose.