Miami Dolphins: Legend Is The 2023 NFL MVP But Won’t Win It.
Tyreek Hill and the Miami Dolphins were humiliated this week on Monday Night Football by the Tennessee Titans. With less than half of the fourth quarter remaining, the Dolphins managed to throw the game away, allowing two touchdown drives to lose 28-27.
Earlier in the game, future Hall of Fame wide receiver Tyreek Hill was tackled awkwardly by Titans safety Sean Murphy Bunting, injuring him for the vast majority of the game. When Hill was on the ground and appeared to be injured, the crown fell silent, but Hill managed to get up during the dead ball and sprint with passion and vigor, which made the Dolphins’ home crowd go absolutely insane. They understand better than anyone how important Hill is to the Miami Dolphins’ success.
The loss highlighted many issues that the Dolphins must address if they are to be a legitimate title contender, but it also highlighted an issue for the league as a whole. Tyreek Hill is unquestionably the most valuable player in the NFL. Hill finished the game with four catches for 61 yards and no touchdowns, bringing his season totals to 97 catches, 1542 yards, and 12 touchdowns.
With Hill on the field, the Dolphins go from having the best offense in the league to being unable to score points at all. There are many other excellent receivers in the league, but none have the same impact as Tyreek. Not only is he on pace to break the all-time receiving record in a season, but his entire team suffers offensively when he is absent.
Dak Prescott and Brock Purdy are both having fantastic seasons for their respective teams, but there are many other quarterbacks who could be just as productive, if not more productive, in those systems. The MVP award has formally been renamed the quarterback award, but that does not imply that a quarterback must be the most valuable to his or her team.
We can safely assume that one of those quarterbacks will walk away with the award and deservingly so they are each having a great year and are both major contenders to take home the Lombardi Trophy. Tyreek Hill isn’t simply having a good year, but when the season is over, he may well have the greatest season of a receiver ever. No receiver has ever taken home the coveted award of MVP in league history, but Hill could and should change that.
In a recent article, Bucky Brooks, a former NFL player and scout, who possesses an intricate understanding of the league’s nuances, offering astute observations and analysis in his notebook, gushed about Hill and how deserving he is of the award. Brooks is quoted saying:
“That said, this feels like a season where the award could go to a non-QB. We are not seeing the video game numbers we’ve become accustomed to at the game’s most important position; no one is on track to reach even 40 touchdown passes.”
He went on to say how Hill is by far the most deserving of this award this year as his projected stats would shatter the record Calvin Johnson hold now for most receiving yards in a season.
“As voters ponder which players are making the most significant impacts on their respective squads, it is impossible to ignore Tyreek. In fact, if the season ended today, I’d give Hill the MVP award, based on his numbers and contributions to the NFL’s top offense.”
It is clear that many prominent voices around the NFL feel strongly about Hill deserving this award. The only non quarterback to win it since 2000 was Adrian Peterson and that does not seem to be changing this year if you look at the Vegas odds, but if Tyreek were to get to the 2000 yards mark then he just may be able to come away with MVP. Peterson has also achieved the legendary mark of 2000 yards in his MVP campaign and it would be proper that Hill get the award if he achieves the same mark in receiving.
In a recent episode of the Pat McAfee show, the incredibly entreating host McAfee, spoke about Hill and whether he was deserving of the award. The hosts go on to say how this would be the year that a non quarterback could win but it would be surprising to say the least. McAfee highlighted an NFL GM, saying:
“I don’t understand how Tyreek Hill isn’t in the MVP conversation!”
I don’t understand how Hill isn’t leading in the odds right now for the MVP either. What more can a non quarterback do to show they are deserving other than what Hill has been able to accomplish this season. In a year that no quarterback will reach the 40 touchdown mark, and clearly a down year for quarterbacks as a whole, we should see the first wide receiver ever to win the MVP award, but if history tells us anything, it’s that Hill, although the most deserving, will not walk away with the honor.
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