Wide receiver Tyreek Hill appeared with Mitch Holthus and Matt McMullen on Chiefs.com’s “Training Camp Live” Monday, and he discussed taking a more active role as team leader – which he said he learned from his debut at Kansas City Chiefs’ teammates.
“I was once in their shoes,” Hill said of the current young generation of receivers on the team. “I was a fifth-round draft pick. I was able to walk into a great locker room with Jeremy Maclin, Chris Conley and Albert Wilson. All of these guys took me under their wing – not just me, but Demarcus Robinson. It helped me get to this place. I am very grateful for these guys. I’m grateful for the chefs for giving me the opportunity to take on this role – and such a great environment and culture.
Hill has come a long way since joining the team in 2016. No one in the NFL has ever seriously doubted his speed, but many wanted to see him as a one-dimensional threat. Hill said one of his first mistakes as a player was paying too much attention to what they were saying.
“When I first came into the league,” he recalls, “a lot of people said, ‘Oh, he’s just another fast guy,’ you know? So I kind of took that to heart.
But then he realized that changing that perception was under his own control.
“I was like, ‘You know what? I will be different. I want to be different from any other speed guy. I want to be able to block, do tough takes, be able to run every route on a road tree. So I worked every offseason to grow as a player – in all aspects of the game.
Hill says he now realizes that is the lesson his mother always taught him.
“My mom always told me I was different,” he says. “And if you want to be great, you have to be different – and chase greatness. So that’s what I’m going through, man.
Now finally considered one of the league’s elite receivers, Hill said he could still find ways to improve his game.
“I just need to be able to trust myself in certain situations,” he explained. “You can tell that sometimes when I catch the ball I still think people are around me – when clearly they’re not. So I have to be able to catch the ball, catch it, put it away and start putting the peace sign.
“I just feel like if I started to trust myself – and trust my hands more – I feel like a whole different animal.
That’s not just what Hill says. It is also the way he says it – the way he talks. He went through a period of his life that could easily have fueled resentment and bitterness. But instead, he speaks calmly and purposefully like a reborn man – someone who has found a new purpose in his life.
“I’m just making a commitment to want to grow up as a man, as a citizen, as a father,” he told Holthus and McMullen. “I want to be all of these things – and I continue to grow and learn every day. I am delighted with my trip. “
