Wide receiver Tyreek Hill has been an electrifying player since he entered the league as member of the Kansas City Chiefs in 2016. In his first couple of seasons Hill was mostly known as a return specialist, and in his rookie season he scored three touchdowns on punt and kickoff returns. However, in the 2016 Divisional Round playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Steelers were determined not to let him beat them.
One way they did this was by hitting him hard on kickoff returns. Late in the first quarter Hill returned a kickoff, but Steelers linebacker Vince Williams laid a vicious hit on him as he was running at his top speed downhill on kickoff coverage.
That hit was so vicious that Hill remembers it to this day. Recently, Hill made a Tik Tok video with Bleacher Report and one question he was asked was who hit him the hardest in the league, to which Hill said Vince Williams and referenced that play.
“The hardest hit I ever took in the league was probably my rookie year,” said Hill, who is now with the Miami Dolphins. “Vince Williams from the Pittsburgh Steelers. He’s not in the league no more, but dude like he made me not want to do kickoff returns no more.”
That hit played a big part in setting the tone of that game, which was a defensive slugfest in which the Steelers won thanks to six Chris Boswell field goals. It also just happened to be the last playoff game that Pittsburgh won.
Williams was a known thumper and beloved during his time in Pittsburgh. As Hill said, the viciousness of the hit made him not want to do returns anymore, but as a young player he did not get his wish granted. Hill returned kicks for a couple more seasons in Kansas City until blossoming into one of the best wide receivers in the NFL while being paired with quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Last season, his first in Miami after getting traded to the Dolphins, Hill had 1,710 receiving yards in the NFL, second only to Justin Jefferson (1,809).
