Miami Dolphins’ explosive skill players like a track squad: ‘Man, it’s like a race car game. You can’t coach speed.’

PEARLAND – Tyreek Hill was in the mood for a race. Confident in his elite speed, the Miami Dolphins’ speedy All-Pro wide receiver and $120 million man immediately challenged Jaylen Waddle on Saturday during Hill’s youth football and speed camp in Pearland.

“I decided to bring Jaylen Waddle back home in front of his family, his friends,” Hill said of the Episcopal graduate and fellow Dolphins standout wide receiver. “He’s the hometown hero, so why not a better place than bringing Jaylen Waddle home to beat him in front of all of his friends and family?”

As fun as that matchup might have been to watch between Hill, who’s run the 40-yard dash in 4.29 seconds, and Waddle, a 4.37 sprinter, it didn’t happen Saturday. Waddle didn’t bring his cleats with him.

‘Reek just be talking a lot,” Waddle said. “I see he got his cleats on. He might challenge me, but he got it today.”

“That’s technically a forfeit,” Hill said. “So, I win.”

Already one of the most explosive offenses in the NFL, the Dolphins got even faster with the selection of Texas A&M All-Southeastern Conference running back Devon Achane, a former track star who ran the fastest 40-yard dash time of the running backs with a 4.32 clocking at the NFL scouting combine.

Practice sessions and games represent a challenge for defensive players against the high-octane Dolphins.

Just ask Dolphins cornerback Xavien Howard who’s tasked with shadowing these skill players in practice.

‘Man, it’s like a race car game,” Howard said. “You just see speed going, quick and fast. Especially after adding this guy (Achane) to our running backs. It’s good going against the competition and going against these two guys.

“The speed, it’s a lot. You can’t coach speed. Especially playing cornerback, it helps out a lot. You can’t put me in this. I just got good technique. These guys are fast, though.”

Who would win a race between this trio of speedsters.

“I got to go with my boy, Waddle,” said Howard, a Wheatley graduate who grew up in the Fifth Ward. “I’m sorry, ‘Reek. I got to keep it in the Htown.”

The Dolphins finished 9-8 last season during coach Mike McDaniel’s first season. They averaged 23.4 points per game, ranking 11th in scoring offense. They were sixth in total offense and fourth in passing offense.

Hill caught 119 passes for 1,710 yards and seven touchdowns last season after being acquired in a trade from the Kansas City Chiefs.

And Waddle caught 75 passes for 1,356 yards and eight touchdowns.

“Man to me, Jaylen is an All-Pro, Pro Bowler, but I feel he doesn’t get the validation that he needs,” Hill said. “Obviously because you can’t have two fast guys on a team doing the same thing. Jaylen is a dope player. He’s an even doper person.

“The way I connect with Jaylen is off the field. I look at him like a younger brother ‚a guy who obviously wants to compete every day. He reminds me of myself. He’s very competitive. He’s very feisty. He doesn’t back down from no challenges.”

The Dolphins had 4,765 passing yards and 30 touchdown passes last season, including 3,548 yards and 25 touchdowns from quarterback Tua Tagovailoa as he battled concussion issues. Tagovailoa completed 64.8 percent of his throws.

“Obviously we got one of the most accurate quarterbacks in the NFL and I’m sticking to my stance on that,” Hill said. “So having Tua at quarterback and having the offensive guru we have in our head coach is wonderful. Having those weapons at his disposal, he’s going to go crazy. He can have me and Waddle on one side, Devon and Raheem (Mostert) on another side. The sky is the limit for this offense.”

The Dolphins lost in the playoffs to the Buffalo Bills, but expectations are high for them with a healthy Tagovailoa.

“We’ve got new guys and another year under Mike, so just stability,” Waddle said. “I think we’re going in the right direction.”

Of course, the element of speed makes a huge difference.

“I think it’s something defenses got to be careful of,” Waddle said. “When you have a lot of guys that can stretch the field, it opens up a lot of stuff.”

Achane rushed for 1,102 yards and eight touchdowns last season as he averaged 5.8 yards per run. He caught 36 passes for 196 yards and three touchdowns and returned one kickoff for a touchdown. He had 21 career touchdown runs.

Achane adds another dimension of speed to the Dolphins

“We have a bunch of it,” Hill said. “The crazy part about it, our coach told us right before the draft, ‘Not every guy has to run a 4.2,’ and then they go out and draft a guy that runs a 4.2. So, I’m like, ‘Coach, what are we building here?”

Achane averaged seven yards per carry in 2021 and rushed for 910 yards and nine touchdowns.

“Man, he’s another special player that we added this year,” Hill said. “I’m very excited to see what he brings to this offense. So far, he’s been looking really good with his speed and the way he’s able to catch the ball out of the backfield. So far, I’m very impressed.”

Achane grew up excelling in track and field, honing his speed and making it translate into big plays on the football field. For the Aggies, he ran indoor and outdoor track and was part of an All-American 100-meter relay team and won the 60-meter dash with a 6.63 clocking.

“I think track helped me a lot with that,” he said. “I’ve been putting a lot of hard work into it.”

Achane’s 40-yard dash time only trails Chris Johnson (4.24), Dri Archer (4.26) and Keith Marshal (4.31) for the fastest time in franchise history.

Achane was faster than Alabama’s Jahmyr Gibbs (4.36) and East Carolina’s Keaton Mitchell (4.37), who both ran in the 4.3 range.

“Speed, we generally like around here,” McDaniel said. “That running back group for us is very important and we found a person who fits the skill set we like, but someone who also fits in the room. He is fast.”

The feedback from McDaniel is significant to Achane.

“It means a lot,” Achane said. “He’s a great coach. He’s one of the best coaches. He knows what to do with my talent and I’m just glad to be there. He’s a great coach and a great dude. It’s going to be fun out there.”

Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com.