How to Get Hill and Waddle Going Against Seattle

Miami Dolphins wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle were held in check in the Thursday night loss against Buffalo in Week 2.

Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill (10), Miami Dolphins wide receiver Jaylen Waddle (17) and receivers coach Wes Welker as times runs out against the Cleveland Browns during NFL action in 2022. / BILL INGRAM/THE PALM BEACH POST / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Miami Dolphins' offense needs to fix many things for their Sunday contest with the Seattle Seahawks. Chief among them is finding a way to get star receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle more involved in the passing game.

In the team's 31-10 loss against the Buffalo Bills, Hill finished with three catches for 24 yards on six targets, and Waddle finished with four catches for 41 yards on four targets.

With Skylar Thompson taking over for the injured Tua Tagovailoa, who was placed on injured reserve this week, getting Hill and Waddle consistent high-quality looks is more crucial than ever.

Before we cover what Miami can do to get its star receivers more involved against the Seahawks, let's briefly recap how Buffalo kept them quiet last week.

How Buffalo Stopped Hill, Waddle

Many point to the Bills' use of Cover-2 and playing with two high safeties (those are different things) as why Hill and Waddle couldn't get going. And it's definitely part of the puzzle.

Buffalo deployed Cover 2 on 37.3 percent of snaps against the Dolphins, a 17.3 percent increase from how Buffalo played the Arizona Cardinals in Week 1. Cover 2 is designed to eliminate deep vertical routes, so it makes sense to use it against Miami.

However, the Dolphins don't run many vertical routes. Instead, the team likes to throw in-breakers in the middle of the field, which Buffalo countered by using a "Robber Safety." That safety took away many easy looks for Hill and Waddle.

Miami has been dealing with teams playing a lot of Cover 2 against them for years now — it's not exactly a unique strategy.

The other factor is the running game. When teams play a lot of Cover 2, running the ball is much easier. The Bills played with fewer than seven defenders inside the box on 43 of 75 defensive snaps against Miami.

They dare Miami to run the ball, and the Dolphins do. Miami finishes with 34 rushing attempts and 39 passing attempts. Basically, it wasn't just one thing.

"It's never as simple as, 'it's because of this, therefore it's that.' I think it's more of, 'OK, if they're doing this, well, we need to make sure if we're operating well and connected, we're doing what we need to do,'" Dolphins offensive coordinator Frank Smith told reporters this week. "So I think that's the biggest thing from the game is collectively us just making sure we're operating well together and whatever the defense is doing, if we understand what we're trying to do so we can maximize what play we're doing as we're attacking it."

Attacking Seattle's Defense

At least on paper, Seattle's defense operates very differently than Buffalo's. The Seahawks run an overwhelming amount of Cover 3 (28.1% of snaps this season) and Cover 1 (31.9%).

Cover 1 is a man coverage concept, so Hill and Waddle should have the advantage. Their speed, quickness, and change-of-direction skills make them incredibly difficult to handle with man coverage.

For example, Hill's 80-yard touchdown against the Jaguars came against Cover 1. Also, Waddle has caught all four of his targets against Cover-1 this season (all vs. Jacksonville) for 46 yards.

Miami has yet to face much Cover 3 this season, so there's not much to pull from. However, in 2023, Hill finished with 32 catches on 47 targets versus Cover 3, and Waddle caught 21 of 28.

While Hill and Waddle match up well with Seattle's general philosophy, the Seahawks have impressive cornerbacks. Riq Woolen and Devon Witherspoon are among the NFL's most underrated cornerback duos.

We've seen Hill and Waddle struggle to beat big, physical cornerbacks in the past, and that's exactly what Woolen and Witherspoon are. Woolen is 6-4, 210, and Witherspoon — while only 5-10, 185 — plays much stronger than his frame indicates.

If the Dolphins want to keep Hill and Waddle away from press coverage, they'll have to utilize a lot of pre-snap motion, something they're more than comfortable with. Additionally, it would be incredibly beneficial if a depth receiver or tight end drew some of the Seahawks' attention.

"It's a collective unit out there at the end of the day," Hill told reporters this week. "I can't sit up here and point no finger at nobody. We all got to be better. We've got a great group of leaders on this team on both sides of the ball. We got a heck of a football coach, so no excuses from none of us. That's the way I look at it."

The Dolphins' leading receiver last week was De'Von Achane. While he's someone defenses have to worry about, most of his catches come on screens and dump-offs. Those plays won't force Seattle to back off Hill and Waddle.

Someone like Braxton Berrios or Jonnu Smith must make a few catches downfield to open things up.

Again, while it's crucial to get Hill and Waddle involved, it shouldn't come at the expense of what the defense is giving up. The Seahawks defense allows 142 rushing yards per game, ranking 23rd in the NFL.

On the flip side, Seattle ranks third in passing yards per game. To be fair, they've faced an underwhelming quarterback duo of Bo Nix and Jacoby Brissett this season.

Still, sometimes, the way to get the passing game going is to run the ball. If Seattle plays more 2-high coverages than usual on Sunday, running the ball could force them out of it.

"What's cool about Reek [Tyreek Hill] and [Jaylen] Waddle and their understanding of football and really our offense is there are certain situations where it doesn't happen that often, but they'll come to the sidelines and tell me, 'Hey, you know what? We need to run the ball,'" Mike McDaniel told reporters. "What they're saying is they know there's not a run fit player. They know that the safety and the corner aren't even looking at the ball during our play action, so you have to execute and make people pay when they're overplaying something."

Regardless of how Miami does it, it's hard to imagine them winning without Hill and Waddle making a few big plays. Thompson shouldn't be expected to carry the offense; the running game can only do so much.

The Dolphins are built to maximize Hill and Waddle's unique talents. It shouldn't be too difficult to get back to that this weekend.