Tyreek and the Commotion About the 'Cheat Motion'

Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill is confident head coach Mike McDaniel will come up with a new wrinkle to baffle defenses in 2024.

Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill (10) works out during training camp at Baptist Health Training Complex. / Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

So apparently there's a movement afoot to more properly regulate what became known as the "cheat motion," an offensive tactic that became so effective for the Miami Dolphins last season.

The argument could be made, actually, that no team benefited more from that in 2023 than the Dolphins, with Tyreek Hill getting a running start on his route by sprinting in motion right before the snap.

But the suggestion, as first indicated by Pro Football Talk, is that the league wants to place an emphasis on making sure receivers don't try to lure defenders offside with a sudden move or move toward the line of scrimmage at the snap.

Per PFT, an addition was made to Rule 7, Article 4, Section 2 of the official playing rules stating, “Any eligible backfield player who changes his stance does not have to come to a complete stop prior to the snap, as long as his actions are not abrupt (false start) or forward (illegal motion).”

Two important points to be made here: First, Hill never was called for an illegal forward motion penalty last season, but there certainly were a handful of instances were he looked as though he had turned upward after going in motion before the ball was snapped; second, unless we've forgotten about our rules, it always was illegal to be moving forward at the snap.

So maybe what we're interpreting here is that the NFL will ask officials to be more vigilant in watching for players moving foward before the snap after going in motion, the way Hill did or the way 49ers tackle Trent Williams did at times after being used as a tackle-eligible.

The bottom line, as we can gather, is that Hill might not get away with getting an early upfield start at all in 2024 with officials looking for the infraction more closely.

TYREEK'S TAKE ON THE CHANGE

When asked about this development after practice Thursday, Hill said it was the first he had heard of it.

He then sounded like he was massively unconcerned about it.

“Our head coach, he’ll find a way to make a way around that," Hill said. "He does a great job of creating schemes for us to get open. So that’s why he’s one of the best offensive-minded coaches in the game.

“I feel like we ain’t gonna have a problem with that.”

Hill then predicted McDaniel would have a new wrinkle to make opposing defenses even more hesitant, the same way he did with the extensive use of the jet motion or "cheat motion," which was the name given to it by 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan.

“it’s crazy,” Hill said. “But I feel like we do feel like we do got some plays that’s gonna wow teams, because teams are already looking for certain motions whenever I line up a certain way or whenever [Jaylen] Waddle lines up a certain way.

“So we do got a few packages or a few motions that’s gonna be like, ‘Oh, where did that come from?’ [and] that’s gonna kinda like surprise the defense out of nowhere. It’s gonna be fun this year, man.”