For the first time ever, the No. 1 player in the NFL — as voted on by the players of the NFL — is a receiver.
The top dog is Dolphins wideout Tyreek Hill.
Ordinarily, we don’t care about this list. The methodology is flawed. There’s little or no transparency. An unspecified number of players are asked to list the top 20 players in the league during the prior season. The outcome will be influenced by the specific timing of the voting.
Indeed, in specific stretches of the 2023 regular season (when Hill was on pace for more than 2,000 receiving yards and the Chiefs’ offense was so-so at best), he would have been the top choice for many players. By the time the dust settled on the season, however, it was clear that the best player in the league is Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. (Mahomes finished fourth, behind Hill, Lamar Jackson, and Christian McCaffrey.)
Regardless, it’s Hill. And that makes things even more interesting regarding his current contract. He’s due to make less than $20 million in 2024. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s recent deal has a new-money annual average of $53.1 million. (Tua came in at 36th on the top-100 list.)
Even though it should have been Mahomes, the list shows that Hill is widely regarded as a better and more impactful player than his quarterback. That will make Hill believe even more strongly that he deserves a new deal.
The challenge for Hill is to not agitate too loudly for a raise. He’s sensitive to the possibility that he’ll be perceived as a problem. That he could be traded again.
Still, he’s more valuable to the Dolphins than the team’s quarterback. But Tua has the huge contract, and Hill’s compensation is slipping and sliding in comparison to other top receivers.
Even if Hill says all the right things publicly, chances are he’s creeping toward a full boil privately.
Source Agencies
