MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — What does an NFL player do when all of his dreams come true?
In the case of Tyreek Hill, the answer is to dream even bigger. The Miami Dolphins‘ star wide receiver in the past week realized two of his biggest personal goals:
He’s gotten more money. And he’s been named the NFL’s No. 1 player.
What’s Next for Miami Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill?
Now Hill’s focus is solely on doing something no Dolphins player has done in nearly a quarter-century.
“What’s the next big step for me?” Hill said after Miami’s joint practice with the Atlanta Falcons Tuesday. “I don’t know, I really haven’t thought about that, man. But as a team goal and what I want, like for this whole team, man, is just to win a playoff game. That’s Step 1.
“That’s something that we all can build on moving forward, going deeper into the playoffs. And that’s something that we can live with forever cause it hasn’t been done in what, 23, 24 years?
“And for us to be able to, you know, do something special like that with this team, we can look back on it 50 years from now when we all come back and say, ‘Man, we got a great team man, back in 2024 man. I remember those practices.’
“So that’s what I want for this team. Like that’s what I want for myself, man to have moments like that with, with my brothers, man. Cause a lot of these guys, I came in the league with, you know what I’m saying? So we got a lot of veterans on this team.
“The prior years I’ve been here, it is a real young team. But the years now, we got guys that I came into the league with guys that I played with, you know, played with or against.”
Hill last week learned that his peers named him the No. 1 player. On Tuesday, he made them look smart.
He ran past Falcons DB Mike Hughes in team drills and pulled in a long touchdown pass from Tua Tagovailoa, whose career has done a 180 in the two and a half years since the Dolphins traded for Hill.
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“That’s why I play, man,” Hill said about seeing his name atop the NFL Top 100 list. “You feel me?
“To reach moments like this and for me to say that, for me to call my shot in 2017 and say that I was gonna be the No. 1 player, says who I am as a player. I’m always hungry, I’m always trying to find ways to get better and you know, that’s the only way to be in this league.
“I’m grateful to be in this position. You know, I told coach [Mike] McDaniel man, ‘Without you, I’d still be getting ranked No. 15 in Kansas City.’ So it’s awesome, man, to be a part of this with Chris Grier, [Stephen] Ross. Even Tua, helping me become a better player. So I’m excited, man. I’m grateful. I won’t ever take any of this for granted.”