If there is any silver lining with this latest Tyreek Hill situation, it’s that it happened before the draft, and Miami can still add someone at that position during draft weekend.
Two weeks out from the draft, we all knew the needs Miami had to address in this draft: defensive line, cornerback, safety, and offensive line.
Well, we can add wide receiver to that list.
With the Tyreek Hill news that broke Wednesday evening, the Dolphins cannot ignore the wide receiver position because they have a ticking time bomb that cannot be trusted for this upcoming season.
Whether this Tyreek Hill story is a nothingburger or not, there is no positive spin to put on it.
If this was Tyreek’s first incident where the police had to be called in his life or the first time he is making headlines for an off-the-field situation, you can give him the benefit of the doubt and maybe turn a blind eye to it.
But it’s not. With Tyreek, this is just the latest in a long list of situations he finds himself in that gets him in the headlines, and we all know the next one is only a couple of weeks away because there is always a next one.
And none of these situations and headlines he finds himself in are good.
It’s not like he saves orphans by running into a burning building and pulling them out individually. It’s assaulting an elderly man at a marina, its breaking the leg of a plus sized model in his back yard, its being put in handcuffs before the week one game, and then mocking the situation after he scores a touchdown in the game, its being taken to court countless times over child support and patertinty tests. I could go on and on.
It’s never-ending.
It’s exhausting.
Whether Miami keeps Tyreek for one more season and puts up with this nonsense or if they decide to cut/trade him after June 1st, I have no earthly idea.
They will do what they will do, and it’s their decision.
What I do know is this.
The Dolphins need to address the wide receiver position in this upcoming draft.
Will they have to pivot from their original draft plan and maybe select a WR early in this draft, to the detriment of the offensive line, cornerback, safety, or defensive line position?
Yeah, maybe.
In fact, they probably should.
Even if they do not cut or trade Tyreek, we know this will end badly. I don’t need to be Oz the Mentalist to see how this will play out over the rest of this offseason and into September.
Tyreek is a ticking time bomb waiting to go off.
When will he quit in the middle of the game next? Week 1? Week 5? Week 7?
If the Dolphins get off to a slow start and are 2-4, will he demand a trade? Quit? Talk to the media again, saying he isn’t happy?
When (not IF) that happens, Miami had better have a Plan B because when he does it again, you have to suspend him and not play him. Mike McDaniel will have to act like a real head coach for once and hold one of his players accountable with real consequences.
With this latest news, will the NFL suspend him under the NFL’s Personal Conduct Policy?
If so, you may be without him all of September of this season and a handful of games.
Miami better have a Plan B!
Miami just gave Jaylen Waddle a three-year contract extension last offseason: $84.75 million with $76 million guaranteed. He will be asked to step into the #1 WR role this season or next whenever Tyreek is gone, which I think he can do and be fine in.
The question is, who is Miami’s #2 WR?
Some people say to move De’Von Achane to WR, and while I understand the thought behind it, I’m not sure you are getting maximum value from Achane that way.
Malik Washington showed some promise late last season but isn’t a #2 WR in this league. Maybe someday, but not yet.
Nick Westbrook-Ikhine: I like him as a player, but he is not a #2 WR.
The Dolphins are in a bad situation, a self-inflicted one, but a bad situation nonetheless.
I wrote a week or so ago that the Miami Dolphins are in a soft rebuild in 2025, so to me, the answer is easy. They now enter the draft with 5 (not 4) positions of need and if a wide receiver is BPA at pick 48 or 98 or wherever in whatever round, you take him.
Because if Tyreek Hill is suspended, quits, is playing his final season here in Miami, or is traded post-June 1st, the Dolphins have to prepare for life after Tyreek.
I know fans want to think their team has “a chance” every season, and they don’t want to give up on the 2025 season in April.
Folks, SPOILER ALERT, the Dolphins need to clean up their house a little. Part of that cleanup is how to start moving on from and replacing Tyreek Hill.
So, if Miami takes a wide receiver at pick 48 instead of a guard or defensive tackle. I Get It!
If Miami takes a wide receiver at pick 98 instead of a safety or defensive end. I Get It!
And even if Miami feels at pick #13, there is a wide receiver there that is so good we can’t pass up on him, and we will put off CB, DT, OG, and Safety until the later rounds. I GET IT!
