Wes Welker is a victim of recency bias if he really thinks Tyreek Hill is better than Randy Moss.
There’s no need to mince words. Tyreek Hill is having one of the greatest seasons by a receiver in NFL history. If he continues his current pace, the Miami Dolphins superstar will become the first-ever flanker to record at least 2,000 yards in a single year. Oh, and he might become the first receiver ever to win MVP, too. The future Hall of Famer clearly deserves his flowers for this remarkably consistent performance week to week.
But that doesn’t make him better than Randy Moss. Not even close. Former New England Patriots slot weapon and current Dolphins receivers coach Wes Welker seems to disagree.
On Thursday, Welker paid serious compliments to his top playmaker. He first invoked Moss, calling him the best deep threat in league history. But he stopped short there. Welker then claimed that Hill is a more complete receiver than Moss ever was because he runs a “full route tree.” And when I hear assessments like this, it makes me wonder if Welker — who was teammates with Moss for four seasons from 2007 to 2010 — actually watched him play.
The opinion is that silly:
Here’s a video of Welker’s Moss to Hill comparison:
Admittedly, I can understand why Welker thinks Moss is a one-trick pony compared to Hill. By the time Moss came to the Patriots, he remained an elite player but probably did run fewer routes over the middle than in the early stages of his career. However, that erases all the incredible work Moss achieved with the Minnesota Vikings, where he victimized defensive backs in every possible way all over the field for seven seasons. Moss during his prime might have been the most unstoppable football player in history.
Welker’s fallacious argument ignores the statistical juxtaposition, too.
From an all-time perspective, Moss is fourth all-time in receiving yards (15,292), second in touchdowns only to Jerry Rice (156), and 15th in receptions (982). Hill, as it stands, has a career 686 catches, 9,664 receiving yards, and 73 touchdowns. Based on his year-to-year average of roughly 85 catches, 1,208 yards, and nine touchdowns, Hill wouldn’t chase down Moss on:
- Receptions until he was approximately 33
- Receiving yards until he was approximately 34
- Touchdowns until he was nearly 40 years old
And this is all only possible IF Hill maintains this same form as he ages and IF he doesn’t follow through on his threats of an “early” retirement.
Hill is one of pro football’s all-time speedsters and is a no-doubt First Ballot Hall of Famer. But the fact is he doesn’t remotely compare to Moss, perhaps the most gifted receiver ever to put on shoulder pads and a helmet.
