After a media whirlwind over the week-plus following new Miami Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill’s comments comparing his current quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa, to former teammate, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, Hill responded.
On the second episode of his podcast, “It Needed To Be Said,” which was released Tuesday night, Hill said criticism he received went as far as death threats from fans after stating that he felt Tagovailoa was a more accurate passer than Mahomes on the podcast’s debut episode June 10.
“On every social media account I own, I got death threats,” Hill said.
In the episode where the comparison was made, Hill was asked by co-host Julius Collins which of the two had the stronger arm. Hill indicated Mahomes certainly had the edge in arm strength but pivoted to note he found Tagovailoa to be more accurate after an offseason of working with him in organized team activities and minicamp.
The comparison — with Mahomes a Pro Bowl selection in all of his four seasons as a starter and Tagovailoa uneven through two NFL seasons — drew an array of negative feedback from sports talk shows nationally.
“I just feel like a lot of people overreacted for no reason,” Hill said in Tuesday’s episode. “They really didn’t see what I said. A lot of people are just acting off emotion.”
“When you see the snippets, the media went insane,” Collins added. “They automatically jumped to a conclusion. You didn’t even answer. I just asked a simple question. … It was solely a question that they didn’t get the answer to.”
Hill showered Mahomes, who already has an MVP under his belt and won a Super Bowl as Hill’s quarterback with the Chiefs, with praise in Tuesday’s release.
“Arguably one of the best quarterbacks in the league. Top two, and he’s not 2,” Hill said.
“We all know Patrick Mahomes is great. We know that. But, right now, I’m going into a new season with a new quarterback who’s trying to head in the same direction as Patrick and do great things and lead this team to a Super Bowl championship — who is also great, in my opinion. He just doesn’t have the accolades — of yet. I believe in him.”
Hill and Collins criticized media for taking comments out of context and claimed journalists today look to report negative news, juicy headlines and clickbait. Collins also said he felt much of the criticism came from a “shut up and play” perspective.
Last week, Mahomes said he was “surprised a little” Hill made the comparison on his podcast.
In Tuesday’s episode, Hill said he knew, although Twitter and the national media ran wild with the comments, that he wouldn’t have to reach out to Mahomes to offer an explanation, especially after seeing each other at the F1 Miami Grand Prix at Hard Rock Stadium in early May.
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