This story was originally published by Dead Spin
On Friday night, Tyreek Hill was announced as the No. 1 player in the NFL.
Every preseason, the NFL releases their Top 100 rankings, where NFL players vote on their peers to create a top list of overall players heading into the season.
Allow me to preface by stating that Tyreek Hill might just be the best wide receiver I’ve ever seen. Like many people, when he was traded from the Kansas City Chiefs to the Miami Dolphins, I was very curious to see if he could have success without Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes facilitating things offensively.
He proved any doubters wrong.
He’s caught 119 passes in each of his two seasons with the Dolphins. Last season, he was one yard shy of 1,800 receiving yards. He scored 13 touchdowns. At 30 years old, he’s showing no signs of slowing down, and is eyeing another big payday to stay in Miami.
It’s also the offseason. I understand that these lists are populated to give fans and pundits alike an opportunity to debate and keep the NFL front and center of our minds.
But let’s be real with ourselves. Hill is not the NFL’s best player. It’s Mahomes.
Outrageously enough, Mahomes was the No. 4 ranked player on this list. Lamar Jackson and Christian McCaffrey were also ranked higher.
While these players who voted can’t just rattle off all of the best QBs in the NFL as the top players, let’s not forget that this is the most important position in professional sports.
“It’s a quarterback league.”
That’s what we always hear. Well, in a quarterback league, the No. 1 player should be the passer who just won back-to-back Super Bowls.
Oh yeah, and that was after Hill’s departure from Kansas City.
Ever since Hill’s departure two years ago, the Chiefs have not had a true No. 1 wide receiver. Having Travis Kelce at tight end certainly helps things, but it’s absolutely absurd that Mahomes lost the greatest receiver of this generation and still found a way to win two rings.
He threw a career-high 14 interceptions last season, so maybe his peers are holding that against him. It’s hard to find any other reasoning.
Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett was behind Mahomes in the No. 5 slot. He is the reigning Defensive Player of the Year and was the highest-graded defender.
It’s truly no slight against Hill, but in an NFL dominated by quarterbacks, he’s simply not the best player. The proof is in the results that he’s not the most impactful, as his former team has won two championships and he hasn’t even won a playoff game.
Hill will undoubtedly have a stellar 2024 season that inches him closer to football immortality in Canton, Ohio. Mahomes is just 28 years old, shooting for his third straight Super Bowl. There are levels to this.
