NFL Spotlight: 5 Receiving Leaders for the Miami Dolphins in 2023
Despite losing 26-7 to the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2023 National Football League (NFL) Wild Card playoff round, it was a relatively strong season for the Miami Dolphins. The team finished the regular season with a win-loss record of 11-6, winning its most games since 2008 and making the playoffs for the second year in a row for the first time in more than two decades. In addition, head coach Mike McDaniel became only the third coach in franchise history to lead Miami to the playoffs in each of his first two seasons.
Miami's dynamic offense played a major role in its regular season success as the team finished first in total yards per game (401.3) for the first time since the 1994 season. Thanks in large part to quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, the Dolphins also led all NFL teams in passing yards (265.5) and finished second in points per game (29.2).
Below is a closer look at the impressive seasons for Hill and Waddle, along with Miami's other three leaders in receiving yards in 2023.
Tyreek Hill (1,799)
An eight-time Pro Bowl wide receiver selected by the Kansas City Chiefs in the fifth round of the 2016 NFL Draft, Hill led all players in receiving yards (1,799) and receptions (119) in his second season with the Dolphins. He also tied for the league lead with 13 receiving touchdowns. Hill broke his own record for the most receiving yards in a single season after recording 1,710 yards in 2022. He is also the first receiver in league history to exceed 1,700 receiving yards in more than one season.
Hill's best game of the year came in Miami's season debut against the Los Angeles Chargers. The 29-year-old native of Douglas, Georgia, recorded a season-high 215 receiving yards on 11 receptions and scored two touchdowns in the Dolphin's 36-34 victory. He exceeded 100 yards receiving in seven of the team's next 11 games. Hill also only went five games without scoring a touchdown. He was a finalist for the Associated Press (AP) Offensive Player of the Year.
Hill has 10,139 career receiving yards and 76 touchdowns through 124 career regular season games with the Dolphins and Chiefs.
Jaylen Waddle (1,014)
Waddle, a 25-year-old receiver selected by the Dolphins sixth overall in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft, formed the league's best one-two punch on offense with Hill. The third-year player finished second on the team with 1,014 receiving yards and four touchdowns, despite not playing in three regular season games. He and Hill were one of only three receiver duos, along with DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown (Philadelphia Eagles) and Mike Evans and Chris Godwin (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), in which both players recorded 1,000 yards in 2023 and 2022. Waddle is the first Dolphin and only the ninth receiver in league history to exceed 1,000 receiving yards in each of their first three seasons.
Waddle recorded more than 100 receiving yards three times in 2023, including a career-best 142 yards on eight catches in a 30-0 victory over the New York Jets on December 17. He had 31 yards receiving on two receptions in the Dolphins' playoff loss to the Chiefs.
Durham Smythe (366)
A 6-foot-6, 246-pound tight end, Durham Smythe had the best season of his six-year NFL career in 2023. The Notre Dame alumnus recorded career-best figures in targets (43), receptions (35), and receiving yards (366). He had just 15 catches for 129 yards in 2022.
Smythe started the season with at least one reception in four straight games before being held without a catch in three consecutive contests. He had his best two-game stretch of the year in weeks 15 and 16, recording a combined 110 receiving yards on eight catches against the Dallas Cowboys and Baltimore Ravens.
Cedrick Wilson Jr. (296)
A sixth-round pick of the Dallas Cowboys in the 2018 NFL Draft, Cedrick Wilson Jr. showed improvement in his second season with the Dolphins, increasing his total receiving yards from 136 to 296. He also scored three touchdowns after failing to find the end zone in 2022. He recorded a season-best 52 yards on four receptions in Miami's 31-16 Week 3 win over the New York Giants. He had 37 receiving yards on three receptions in the Wild Card game against the Chiefs.
Braxton Berrios (238)
A former All-Pro special teams player with the Jets, Braxton Berrios finished fifth on the Dolphins with 238 receiving yards in 16 regular season games. He caught 27 passes and scored a touchdown, while also rushing once for 11 yards. Berrios, a sixth-round selection of the New England Patriots in the 2018 NFL Draft, had his best game of the season in week 4 against the Buffalo Bills, catching all six targets for 43 yards receiving and scoring a touchdown. The University of Miami alumnus has 134 receptions for 1,323 yards and six touchdowns in 81 career regular season games.