Jets miss out on Tyreek Hill as receiver picks trade to Dolphins
Instead of adding a dynamic weapon in Tyreek Hill, who had 111 receptions in 2021 for KC, the Jets will have to face him twice in a Miami uniform. Credit: AP/Ed Zurga
The Jets suffered another loss to an AFC East team, and this one definitely hurt.
General manager Joe Douglas swung for the fences and tried to acquire dynamic wide receiver Tyreek Hill from Kansas City after their extension talks broke down with the six-time Pro Bowl player.
The Jets were a finalist to land Hill and had a deal in place, according to multiple reports. That proved to be a tease for the Jets and their long-suffering fans. Hill is headed to Miami in a blockbuster trade after he chose the Dolphins.
Miami is sending Kansas City five draft picks: a first (No. 29), second (No. 50) and a fourth-round pick this year and fourth and sixth-rounders next year. Hill also signed a four-year extension for $120 million, including $72.2 million guaranteed.
The Jets reportedly did not offer a first-round pick. Kansas City would have gotten two high second-round choices (35 and 38) and pick 69 from the Jets in the third round. The Jets also would have given Hill the extension he wanted.
Kansas City accepted that offer, which means the Jets would have still had their two first-round choices (Nos. 4 and 10) in next month’s draft. It was up to Hill where he wanted to go and play for the next several years. He chose to sign an extension with the Dolphins, the team announced.
Miami has better weather, Florida has no state tax and the Dolphins are closer to winning. The Dolphins finished above .500 the past two seasons, narrowly missing the playoffs each time. They also have had a good offseason. They picked up top free-agent tackle Terron Armstead, running backs Chase Edmonds and Raheem Mostert, quarterback Teddy Bridgewater and brought back tight end Mike Gesicki and defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah.
The Jets haven’t made the playoffs for 11 consecutive seasons — the NFL’s longest current streak. They also haven’t won a game in their division the past two seasons.
Certainly, Douglas hoped he would be adding an impact player who could really move young quarterback Zach Wilson and the team forward. Now instead of going into every game with Hill as their No. 1 receiver, the Jets have to prepare to play against him twice a season.
Douglas had set the Jets up to be in position to make a trade of this magnitude if one became available. The Jets are loaded with draft capital and financial flexibility, thanks in part to Douglas’ backloading deals during free agency.
“I think we always want to be financially flexible,” Douglas said at the Combine. “We always want the opportunity to strike if the right opportunity presents itself.”
This was one of those opportunities. Acquiring Hill would have helped Wilson and other skill players — Corey Davis, Elijah Moore, Michael Carter and new tight ends C.J. Uzomah and Tyler Conklin — because of all the attention and double-teams he would have received.
Hill had 111 catches last season for 1,239 yards and nine touchdowns. In his six-year career, Hill has 479 receptions for 6,630 yards and 56 scores. He’s been first-team All-Pro three times and helped Kansas City win Super Bowl LIV three years ago. The Jets haven’t had a 1,000-yard receiver since 2015 when Brandon Marshall set the franchise record with 109 catches for 1,502 yards. No one has caught 100 passes in a season.
Hill also has a checkered past. He pleaded in college to punching and choking his pregnant girlfriend and received three years’ probation.
In 2019, police were called to Hill’s house twice. He was accused of breaking his 3-year-old son’s arm. He also threatened his fiancee in audio that aired on a Kansas City television station. The NFL investigated and did not suspend Hill.
Unless another megadeal presents itself, Douglas will turn his attention to the draft. Douglas still needs to address the receiver position and give Wilson more weapons.
As of now, the Jets’ receiver room consists of Davis, Moore, Braxton Berrios, Denzel Mims, Jeff Smith, D.J. Montgomery and Tarik Black.
The Jets are expected to use at least one of their early-round picks on a receiver that they hope can be an impact player. Odds are they won’t have the immediate impact that Hill would have had.
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
