Tyreek Hill burst onto the scene as a rookie in Kansas City last season, scoring six touchdowns on 61 catches, three touchdowns on 24 carries, two touchdowns on 39 punt returns and one touchdown on 14 kickoff returns.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid looks at those numbers and thinks 138 touches isn’t enough for a player with Hill’s ability to get to the end zone.
So Reid will turn Hill into an offensive playmaker in 2017, giving him more snaps at running back and wide receiver after he was on the field for less than half of the offensive plays in 2016.
“Growing Tyreek in the offense will be important,” Reid said.
Reid says Hill arrived in the NFL without a lot of experience running the kind of routes that an NFL offense demands of its receivers, but Hill can get better at that with experience.
“He was a running back that they kind of moved around a little bit,” Reid said. “His routes when he first came were kind of raw. They weren’t as disciplined as they need to be in this offense. So much of this offense is timing and being in a certain spot and knowing defenses, knowing secondaries and all that, how you’re going to make adjustments. That was all new. He is a smart kid. He picked it up so fast, and he was able to play at our level.”
If Hill can become an NFL-quality route runner, he should make an even bigger impact in 2017. Which is a scary thought for the Chiefs’ opponents.