Tyreek Hill was technically a part-time player last year even if he had a full-time impact on the Kansas City Chiefs. His role gradually increased as the season went on and the Chiefs plan to continue that into next season.
“(Tyreek Hill) was averaging 35 plays a game (in 2016),” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said this week on SiriusXM NFL Radio via Alex Marvez. “Maybe he can double that or at least take it up a couple notches and allow him to get in more in a starting role.”
Double that?! That would be significant if he were a true full-time player. I do wonder how that would affect his return ability or his impact on offense if he was playing that many more snaps.
Interestingly, the Chiefs weren’t initially viewing him as an offensive player.
“We use him a lot on special teams obviously,” Reid said via Alex Marvez. “When he came to us, that’s what we originally thought we had. He then said, ‘Listen I can do this offensive thing.’ He’s innately a smart kid. We kept adding to it and he got it.”
He went from playing a handful of snaps early on to playing 30-plus snaps a game throughout the course of the season. In addition to acting as a receiver, the Chiefs also started putting him in the backfield near the end of the season.
I’m really excited to see what the Chiefs do with him now that they have another full offseason to continue opening up the playbook. Defenses too have a full offseason to scout him out and stop him. This should be fun.