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Coming off a career year in 2022, Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill is aiming even higher this season.
Hill told reporters after Thursday’s practice that his goal for 2023 is to break Calvin Johnson’s single-season record of 1,964 receiving yards. He believes hitting the 2,000-yard mark is attainable.
Johnson set the record during the 2012 season with the Detroit Lions. He had twice as many targets (204), more than twice as many receptions (122) and nearly 3.5 times as many yards as anyone else on the team.
Brandon Pettigrew ranked second in all three categories for the Lions (102 targets, 59 receptions, 567 yards).
Hill will certainly face more competition for targets than Johnson did, but the single-season record and 2,000 yards aren’t outlandish marks for him to hit. If you break the record, by definition, you’re only 35 yards away from 2,000.
The 17-game schedule gives Hill one more chance than Johnson had to hit both marks. The seven-time Pro Bowler set career highs in targets (170), receptions (119) and receiving yards (1,710) last season.
While those totals still left him 254 yards away from Johnson’s yardage record, Hill played four games with Teddy Bridgewater and Skylar Thompson as his starting quarterback when Tua Tagovailoa was injured.
Hill had 1,408 receiving yards in 13 games started by Tagovailoa in 2022. Based on that pace, he was on track for 1,841 yards in a 17-game season. He was held to 55 yards or fewer in three of the four games with Bridgewater or Thompson starting.
Those games were against the New York Jets (twice) and New England Patriots. The Jets ranked third in pass yards allowed per game last season, so it’s hard to say Hill would have fared significantly better against that defense if Tagovailoa had been healthy.
There’s also no guarantee that Tagovailoa will play a full 17-game schedule. He’s missed time due to injuries in each of his first three seasons, including suffering multiple concussions in 2022.
But if Tagovailoa can stay healthy and his chemistry with Hill remains strong in their second season together, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the 29-year-old challenge Megatron’s record.
