Tyreek Hill has outraced almost every wide receiver in the NFL this season, but the Miami Dolphins superstar had to watch D.K. Metcalf of the Seattle Seahawks post the fastest ball-carrier speed in a game this season against the Dallas Cowboys during Week 13.
Hill is now responding to the renewed rivalry between the two and the idea of a possible offseason race.
“Cheetah ain’t ducking no smoke from nobody.”
“You feel me?”
But Tyreek is focused more on winning than running faster than DK Metcalf
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— Joe Schad (@schadjoe) December 8, 2023
“I thought football was about makin’ plays, though, not about bein’ the fastest,” Hill said Friday. “That’s what I thought, at least. At least, that’s what I signed up for.”
During the Seahawks’ game on Nov. 30, Metcalf reached a top speed of 22.23 miles per hour during a 73-yard touchdown reception. That gave him fastest speed for a ball-carrier in the NFL this season, bettering the 22.01 miles per hour Hill reached in Week 5 against the New York Giants.
Overall, Hill maintains the fastest speed in the NFL since such records have been registered, hitting 23.24 miles per hour with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2016. He has said he believes Metcalf is too afraid to race him. Metcalf has directed similar claims at Hill.
“I got receipts too, though,” Hill said. “I mean, it’s easier to say that somebody’s been ducking you but don’t got the receipts to back it up. I wish I could sign-language that for him, but I don’t know how to.”
Coincidentally, Metcalf’s recent speed is the fastest since current Dolphins running back Raheem Mostert clocked in at 23.09 miles per hour during Week 2 of the 2020 NFL season while he was with the San Francisco 49ers.
Thanks to the Dolphins’ participation as the featured team on the in-season version of HBO’s “Hard Knocks,” fans may have heard about the idea of a race between Hill and Metcalf being floated by Miami wide receivers coach Wes Welker.
Hill recently spoke about the possibility of an offseason race.
“Of course,” Hill said of his willingness to take part in a sponsored race against Metcalf. “Cheetah ain’t duckin’ no smoke from nobody, man. But the reality of it is, man, my focus right now is obviously on what we doin’ right here. And if I try to get tied up in tryin’ to be the fastest, I feel like I’d be losin’ what’s ahead.
“And most of the time when I catch a touchdown, I’m already in front of people. You feel me? He’s gettin’ almost caught. So, there’s a difference.”
The All-Pro and the Dolphins do have bigger immediate goals ahead as they currently hold the top seed in the AFC in their attempt to lock down home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. They are taking a 9-3 record into their Monday Night Football matchup against the Tennessee Titans with five regular season games remaining.
Hill also is within reach of becoming the first NFL player to gain 2,000 receiving yards in a single regular season. The 29-year-old has gained 1,481 receiving yards in 12 games this season, a pace of 2,098 receiving yards over 17 games.
A race between Hill and Metcalf — maybe at the newfangled Pro Bowl Games? — certainly would be entertaining. But the Dolphins star is right to keep his focus on the bigger picture, namely trying to help Miami reach the Super Bowl for the first time since the 1984 NFL season and win it for the first time since the 1973 campaign.
