Can Tyreek Hill break Calvin Johnson’s single-season record?

Tyreek Hill is on fire for the Miami Dolphins this season, and he has a real shot at breaking the all-time record for receiving yards in a single season.

There were questions about whether he would take a step back in his production, and it was assumed that he would dearly miss Patrick Mahomes being his quarterback. But Tyreek Hill and the Miami Dolphins have answered the questions and proved the naysayers wrong, and is far and away the leading receiver in the NFL after nine weeks of play.

But Hill’s 1,104 yards not only leads the league, it does so by a healthy margin. Justin Jefferson currently sits in second place, but is a 237 yards behind the speedster in Miami. His 76 catches leads the league as well, four more than Cooper Kupp in second place and 16 more than Stefon Diggs in third.

Hill is averaging 122.6 yards per game, a full 30 yards more than when he averaged 92.4 during his best season in Kansas City. If he were to continue on a similar pace, then he would amass 980 yards over the final eight games, and would make history across the board.

Former Detroit Lions legend Calvin Johnson currently holds the NFL record for receiving yards in a single season. In 2012, Megatron racked up 1,964 yards to set the league record, and did so by catching 122 balls and 5 touchdowns. But just last season, Cooper Kupp put together arguably the best wide receiver season ever. His 145 catches were the second most ever, and he came within 17 yards of eclipsing Johnson for the yards mark. He also scored 16 times.

Hill has just three touchdowns thus far, and he won’t even be cracking double-digits if he remains on his current pace. But he’ll not only break Johnson’s single-season yards record, but he’ll also become the first receiver in NFL history to eclipse the elusive 2,000 yard mark. Those 980 yards added to the 1,104 that Hill already has would get him to 2,084.

Can he do it? If the Dolphins’ offense continues on its current trajectory, then there is no reason why he couldn’t. But once the calendar turns over to December, the opponents on the schedule get tougher, and Tyreek Hill will have to earn his yards week in and week out if he hopes to chase the all-time record.

The Dolphins will take on the Browns in Week 10 before enjoying their bye week, which will be followed by hosting the Texans. Week 13 sees them travel to the West Coast for the beginning of their brutal late-season schedule.