Currently, Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill and Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa are viewed as candidates to win the NFL MVP award. Hill said recently that, between himself and Tua, Hill wants Tua to win it.
“It’s a quarterback award,” Hill told reporters. “We all know that. And if Tua won it, I’d be happy. I’d be happier if Tua won it. I feel like I’ve gotten everything I want. I get a chance to play the game that I love. God has blessed me with that. But obviously, winning the award would be icing on the cake. But God has blessed me with just everything I’ve got, with just being here in Miami. My family is enjoying life. I’m enjoying life. I’m just enjoying what every day has to offer. I couldn’t ask for more.”
No receiver has ever won the MVP award. Two defensive players have. A kicker has. No receiver.
Hill continues to put together a strong case for it. He’s on track to become the first player in league history to generate 2,000 receiving yards in a single season. And, frankly, he’s more valuable to the Dolphins than Tua.
Frankly, Hill’s comments about Tua could simply be part of the broader effort to boost his quarterback, at all times. Someone apparently persuaded Hill that the perception of selflessness was the key to getting what he wants.
How can Hill not want to be the first receiver to win the NFL MVP award? The truth might have squirted through when he called winning the MVP award “icing on the cake.” But he knows nothing he says will change the vote, that it will be driven by his actions on the field. He knows everything he says about Tua could help keep his quarterback in the right frame of mind to keep doing what he’s been doing.
Hill also knows this: reporters vote on the MVP award. Reporters are aware of his history, even if his history doesn’t get mentioned very often. For some of those reporters, it might be hard to set aside that history and cast a ballot for Hill for MVP.
They should, if he deserves it. Maybe his insistence that he doesn’t will make it easier for any reluctant reporters to conclude that he does.
If the vote were taken right now, he would deserve it. When the dust settles on the season four weeks from today, maybe he’ll get the votes to win it
