Hill on drops: Need more ‘valuable reps’ with Tua

MIAMI GARDENS — Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill got his hands on three passes that ultimately fell incomplete during Sunday’s 29-17 win over the San Francisco 49ers, two of which would have resulted in touchdowns.

When asked about them after the game, Hill attributed his drops to a lack of practice reps with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.

“I feel like at the end of the day, I need those valuable reps with Tua,” Hill said. “Those vet rest days are starting to show. I completely blame myself for not getting my head around and not seeing the ball because, if I see a ball, we’re talking cross-court, 70-yard touchdown. But those Wednesday reps are definitely showing. As a leader, I’ve just got to be able to bite the bullet sometime and practice and get those valuable reps with QB1 because, if we’re able to stay on the field on third down, who knows what could happen.”

Hill dropped a pass on third down during the Dolphins’ opening drive. Later in the quarter, he dropped another third down pass, this time in the endzone — although 49ers cornerback Deommodore Lenoir tipped the ball slightly at the last second.

Tagovailoa targeted Hill once again on an endzone route on third down late in the third quarter, but the pass was dropped. The Dolphins settled for field goals on both of Hill’s endzone drops.

Hill was listed as questionable for Sunday’s game with a wrist injury, which he’s battled throughout the season. He missed Wednesday practices in two of the past four weeks, and has been limited or worse in at least one practice every week since Week 7. Leading up to Sunday’s game, Hill missed practice Wednesday, practiced in full Thursday and was a limited participant Friday.

He doubled down on his lack of practice reps as the reason for his struggles Sunday, hearkening back to a lesson he learned while playing under Andy Reid.

“On the deep ball, it was tipped by the defensive back, and on the other one, it’s just, again, missing those valuable reps with the quarterback,” he said. “One thing I learned from Coach Reid whenever I was in Kansas City, I was blessed to be able to play under such a great head coach, is you can’t just show up on Sunday. You’ve got to be able to prepare yourself Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, even Saturday. Then when it’s Sunday, it’s easy.

“Once again, us missing those valuable reps because when it’s live speed, everything’s moving so fast. We need those valuable reps whenever it’s Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.”

With 29 yards and a touchdown Sunday, the NFL’s leading receiver over the past two seasons is on pace for just 945 receiving yards this season — the lowest total of his career as a full-time starter.

Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said developing a player’s practice workload is an “imperfect formula” but ultimately, if Hill wants more practice reps then he will get them.

“You’re trying to yield the best performance on game day, and the great news is when a player on Sunday can feel the rest in a negative way, then you adjust,” McDaniel said. “Whenever it hits a player and they feel that it has accumulated, then you adjust your plans because the idea is, above all else, executing and feeling as convicted and confident on game day. There’s always pros and cons with any sort of rest. Shoot, I want every player to play 100 percent of the practice snaps at full tilt every week. You have an imperfect formula of trying to figure out how to rest guys and what does best for their body.

“I think the adjustment to getting more reps with Tua, that’s an easy one. You know what I’ll do? I’ll say, hey, get more reps, and then they’ll do it.”

The Dolphins led the NFL in passing yards last season but currently rank 14th in passing yards per game. Their offense struggled after Tagovailoa missed four of the team’s first six games with a concussion, but Hill’s production hasn’t returned to his 2022 and 2023 levels.

Tagovailoa agreed that more practice reps could help get Miami’s offense back on track.

“If he told you that, then that’s what we need more of. We need reps. Me and him need more reps,” he said. “That’s what we’ve got to do. That’s the secret sauce to me being able to connect with all these guys … If we miss a throw, if we’re off on a throw in the team practice or in a routes on-air rep, we’ll get together in whatever time we have, whether it’s after or during, while the defense is on, and we’ll get those reps made up. Telling him what I see and then him also telling me how he feels with running it. That has a lot to do with reps for sure.”

At 6-7, the Dolphins trail the Denver Broncos by two games for the AFC’s final playoff seed. If the Broncos lose their remaining two games, and Miami wins out and finishes with a better record than the Indianapolis Colts, the Dolphins will secure their third consecutive playoff berth.