Dolphins’ Tyreek Hill Tells Fantasy Managers ‘We’re Back’ As Tua Returns to Practice

Timothy Rapp@@TRappaRTFeatured Columnist IVOctober 23, 2024

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Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa returned to practice this week, and his return—in theory—should help spark an offense that has grown stagnant and ineffective without him.

Wideout Tyreek Hill certainly seemed happy about the news on Wednesday while speaking with reporters, passing a message along to fantasy football managers in particular:

David Furones @DavidFurones_Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill tells those who have him in fantasy football, “We’re back, baby! Strike up the f—ing band! Start me this week!” pic.twitter.com/tQT16V8sRI

Fantasy football managers are aware of the huge difference Tagovailoa’s presence has for players like Hill and fellow wideout Jaylen Waddle.

In the two games Tagovailoa appeared in this season, Hill caught 10 passes for 154 yards and a touchdown, averaging 16.3 fantasy points per game in PPR formats. In four games without him, Hill has notched 14 receptions for 140 yards and no scores, averaging a lowly 7.6 fantasy points per game.

Barry Jackson @flasportsbuzzTyreek on Tua: “He looked great. Me and him connected on a few deep shots today. I missed that. I told him I got to take him and his wife to dinner because I missed him so much… That expletive was so beautiful, that bleep almost made me cry… just hearing his voice. The… https://t.co/5C5uyr4ZCJ

Joe Schad @schadjoeTua is sharp. Everything he does is sharp. Accurate. Catchable. On time. Sharp. Timing was beautiful, boy. – Tyreek Hill

It’s even worse for Waddle.

In two games with Tua, Waddle posted nine catches for 150 yards and averaged 12.3 fantasy points per contest in PPR formats. Without him, Waddle had just 13 catches for 119 yards in four games, averaging just 6.2 fantasy points per week.

Joe Schad @schadjoeJaylen Waddle: Tua brought a lot of energy to the team. He brought his swagger. It’s a blessing to have him back out there.

Even the running game has suffered, as defenses didn’t fear Tyler Huntley, Tim Boyle or Skylar Thompson and were able to stack the box. That trio also didn’t find easy dump-off opportunities for De’Von Achane in the passing game.

The star running back averaged an impressive 26.2 fantasy points per week when Tagovailoa was healthy in PPR formats but has dropped to an average of 6.9 points per game without him.

The entire Miami offense has been a train wreck, and it has left the team’s season on the brink, as the Dolphins are now just 2-4. Tagovailoa defended the quarterbacks who replaced him, but it’s obvious the team simply doesn’t execute at a high level when he goes down.

“Listen, I think it’s really tough to ask any of our quarterbacks to come in to do the footwork that we’ve been doing for the past two years,” he told reporters Monday. “To see fast guys running and seeing the space that’s there and asking them to kind of process all of that. We looked at film, we were able to see what we missed and what we could’ve got better with, but it’s a team sport. It shouldn’t take one position for this whole thing to crumble, everybody needs to be on their Ps and Qs as well.”

Maybe. But Hill, at the very least, is thrilled to see his starting quarterback return.