Tyreek Hill

Tyreek Hill (born March 1, 1994) is an American professional football wide receiver. He played college football for the Garden City Broncbusters, Oklahoma State Cowboys, and West Alabama Tigers before being selected by the Kansas City Chiefs in the fifth round of the 2016 NFL draft. He most recently played for the Miami Dolphins.

A former track and field star, Hill played primarily as a return specialist as a rookie but has transitioned to strictly playing wide receiver. Following his rookie year, he received the nickname "Cheetah" in reference to his speed. He was selected to the Pro Bowl in each of his first eight seasons in the league, won Super Bowl LIV with the Chiefs, and was named to the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team as a punt returner. Hill was later traded to the Miami Dolphins, with whom he led the league in receiving yards and touchdowns in 2023, but was released after the 2025 season following a significant knee injury.

Early life

Hill was born on March 1, 1994, and is the son of Anesha Sanchez and Derrick Shaw. A native of Douglas, Georgia, Hill attended Coffee High School, where he won both the 100 meters and 200 meters at the 2012 Georgia 5A state meet.

Hill was a USA Today All-American track and field selection as well as Track and Field News "High School Athlete of the Year" in 2012, after finishing the track season with personal bests in the 100-meter (10.19 s) and 200-meter sprints (20.14 s). Hill's time in the 200 m was the fastest by a junior athlete since Ramil Guliyev's 20.04 s in 2009, and missed Roy Martin's 1985 national high school record by only one hundredth of a second. His time in the 100 m tied Abraham Hall for second fastest by a junior in the 2012 season, behind only Adam Gemili.

College career

Garden City

At Garden City Community College in Garden City, Kansas, Hill ran track and played football. As a sophomore in 2013, Hill ran for 659 rushing yards and five touchdowns while catching 67 passes for 532 receiving yards for the Broncbusters football team.

Oklahoma State

Coming out of Garden City Community College, Hill was a highly sought-after junior college recruit and chose to attend Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

On August 30, 2014, Hill made his debut for the Cowboys and caught a season-high six passes for 62 receiving yards in a 37–31 loss to the Florida State Seminoles. On September 25, he caught his first career touchdown against the Texas Tech Red Raiders and finished the 45–35 victory with three receptions for 50 yards, six rushing attempts for 39 yards, and three kick returns for 62 yards. In the following 37–20 win against the Iowa State Cyclones, Hill finished with a season-high 148 yards on five kick returns, one of which he returned 97 yards for his first touchdown of the season. On November 1, he gained a season-high 102 rushing yards on 18 attempts and scored his first rushing touchdown of the season in a 48–14 loss to the Kansas State Wildcats.

On December 6, he appeared in his last game with Oklahoma State and helped them win a comeback victory over their rival Oklahoma Sooners after he returned a punt for a 92-yard touchdown.

Dismissal

On December 11, 2014, Oklahoma State dismissed Hill from their football and track teams following his arrest and guilty plea for domestic violence. In his only season at Oklahoma State, Hill had a total of 102 rushes for 534 yards and a rushing touchdown, 31 receptions for 381 yards and a receiving touchdown, as well as 30 kick returns for 740 yards and two touchdowns, and 27 punt returns for 256 yards and a touchdown. As a running back, wide receiver and returner, he accounted for 1,911 all-purpose yards and five touchdowns. He was ranked 9th nationally for the amount of punt returns made.

West Alabama

On September 1, 2015, the University of West Alabama in Livingston, Alabama, announced that Hill enrolled and would play football for the Tigers. West Alabama head coach Brett Gilliland said he initially turned down Hill after he read the police report, alleging that Hill choked and hit his girlfriend. But after getting to know Hill personally, he spoke to people at Oklahoma State, Hill's former coaches at Garden City Community College, and a high school mentor, and was swayed to accept him after reading his plea agreement, which required that Hill either attend school full-time or be employed.

On the field, Hill was utilized as widely as he had the previous season, serving as a running back (25 carries for 237 yards and one touchdown), wide receiver (27 receptions for 444 yards and a touchdown), punt returner (20 returns averaging 10.7 yards with two touchdowns), and kick returner (20 returns averaging 23.0 yards with two touchdowns). In his 11 games for the team, he never exceeded 100 yards rushing or receiving, having averaged 135 all-purpose yards until a 307-all-purpose-yard game against Delta State in Game 8. After this, his production tapered off quickly to a season-ending −3 all-purpose-yards against the North Alabama Lions.

College statistics

Professional career

Pre-draft

Hill was projected to go undrafted during the 2016 NFL draft, predominantly due to his domestic violence arrest. He was not invited to the NFL Combine but was able to showcase his abilities at West Alabama's Pro Day. Scouts were impressed with his speed and his Pro Day workout. His head coach at West Alabama said that at least 20 NFL teams were interested in Hill.

Kansas City Chiefs

2016

In the 2016 NFL draft, Hill was selected by the Kansas City Chiefs in the fifth round (165th overall). He was the first player from West Alabama to be drafted since 1974, when Ken Hutcherson was selected 97th overall by the Dallas Cowboys. The Chiefs were criticized by fans for the selection due to his past issues with domestic violence and the Chiefs' history with former linebacker Jovan Belcher. General manager John Dorsey had to receive consent from Chiefs' owner Clark Hunt to make the selection and says they thoroughly vetted Hill, which included speaking to the prosecutor that charged him. After drafting him, the Chiefs held a press conference and addressed the issue to the media during the first day of rookie minicamp.

On May 17, 2016, the Chiefs signed Hill to a four-year, $2.58 million contract that included $100,000 guaranteed and a signing bonus of $70,000.

Hill began the 2016 season as the Chiefs' starting punt returner, kick returner, and fourth wide receiver on the depth chart behind veterans Jeremy Maclin, Chris Conley, and Albert Wilson. In the Chiefs' season opener, he made his first NFL catch for a nine-yard touchdown pass from Alex Smith as the Chiefs came back from 3–21 to defeat the San Diego Chargers 33–27 in overtime. During Week 8, Hill caught five passes for a season-high 98 yards and a touchdown during a 30–14 road victory over the Indianapolis Colts. Two weeks later, he had a season-high ten catches for 89 yards, helping the Chiefs come back from 3–17 at halftime to defeat the Carolina Panthers 20–17. In Week 12 against the Denver Broncos, Hill returned a kickoff for an 86-yard touchdown, ran for a three-yard touchdown, and caught a three-yard touchdown pass with less than five seconds left in the fourth quarter, securing the Chiefs a 30–27 overtime road victory. He was the first player with a kick return for a touchdown, rushing touchdown, and receiving touchdown in a single game since Gale Sayers did so for the Chicago Bears in 1965. During his return, he reached a speed of 22.77 miles per hour (36.64 km/h), the fastest speed any NFL player had reached that season. His performance earned him AFC Offensive Player of the Week. In Week 14 against the Oakland Raiders on Thursday Night Football, Hill made a 78-yard punt return for a touchdown, caught six receptions for 66 yards and scored on a 36-yard receiving touchdown, helping the Chiefs win 21–13 and move to first place in the AFC West. He was named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance. Two weeks later against the Broncos, Hill had a season-high six carries for 95 rushing yards and scored a 70-yard rushing touchdown in the 33–10 victory. In the regular-season finale against the Chargers, he caught five passes for 46 yards, had three carries for 15 yards, and a 95-yard punt return for a touchdown in the 37–27 win. His performance earned him his second AFC Special Teams Player of the Week honor.

Hill finished his rookie season with 61 receptions for 593 yards and six receiving touchdowns, 24 carries for 267 yards and three rushing touchdowns, 14 kick returns for a total of 384 yards and a touchdown, and 39 punt returns for 592 yards and two touchdowns. His punt return yards and yards per punt return average (15.2) ranked first in the league, while his punt return touchdowns (2) tied for first with Andre Roberts and Marcus Sherels. He also appeared in all 16 games with one start, and made seven combined tackles. He was named to the 2017 Pro Bowl as a return specialist. On January 6, 2017, Hill was named first-team All-Pro as a punt returner. He was named to the 2016 PFWA NFL All-Rookie Team on special teams, and was ranked 36th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2017.