Tyreek Hill, Trey Lance and how two Dolphins' trades connect to the KC-SF Super Bowl
More than 2,000 air miles from Las Vegas, the Miami Dolphins are tangled up in Super Bowl 58.
The most obvious connections between the Dolphins and Super Bowl participants San Francisco and Kansas City center on Mike McDaniel and Tyreek Hill.
McDaniel was the 49ers' run game coordinator in 2019, when his team lost to Kansas City 31-20 in Super Bowl 54 at Hard Rock Stadium.
Tua Tagovailoa and the Dolphins studied film of the 49ers offense closely after McDaniel was later hired as Miami's head coach.
McDaniel has rooting interests in San Francisco on Sunday.
Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill played in that game, as a member of the Chiefs, posting 105 receiving yards.
Coincidentally, former Dolphins running back Damien Williams and current Miami running back Raheem Mostert played for Kansas City and San Francisco, respectively, that day.
The Chiefs have been able to advance to the Super Bowl in both seasons since trading Hill to the Dolphins.
But Hill, recently expressing no regrets, still has rooting interests in Kansas City.
The Chiefs succeeding without Hill is more a statement about the impressiveness of quarterback Patrick Mahomes and coach Andy Reid than the absence of the NFL's leading receiver in 2023.
Dolphins general manager Chris Grier traded five draft picks to the Chiefs for Hill two years ago: first round, second round, fourth round (2022) and fourth round and sixth round (2023).
What players did Chiefs end up with for Tyreek Hill?
It gets a bit complicated because all five of those picks were subsequently traded by Kansas City in draft maneuverings. But two key players can be traced to Hill.
Kansas City traded Miami's first-round pick in 2022, 29th, with other picks, to move up to 21st and select cornerback Trent McDuffie from Washington, who has started 27 games.
The Chiefs moved back a bit with the second-round pick acquired from Miami to select receiver Skyy Moore of Western Michigan, who has averaged only 16.5 receiving yards per game.
The Dolphins made an outstanding trade with San Francisco in 2021.
Miami dealt the third overall pick (the Niners selected bust Trey Lance) for first-rounders in 2021, '22 and '23 and a third-rounder in 2022.
With the third-rounder, Miami selected linebacker Channing Tindall.
Dolphins fleeced 49ers in 2021 trade
Miami traded the 2021 and 2022 first-rounders in a move that allowed them to move back up for wide receiver Jaylen Waddle.
Miami used the 2023 first-round pick in a deal with Denver to acquire pass rusher Bradley Chubb, who they signed to a long-term deal.
The 49ers were able to overcome this awful trade only because Brock Purdy — the last pick in the 2022 draft — turned out to be much better than Trey Lance and Sam Darnold.
Here are some other coaches and players connected to the Dolphins:
49ers connections to Miami Dolphins
Starting center Jake Brendel
Starting long snapper Taybor Pepper
Practice squad tackle Jesse Davis
Offensive line coach Chris Foerster
Quarterbacks coach Brian Griese
Defensive line coach Kris Kocurek
Defensive end Nick Bosa (father John played with Miami)
Running back Christian McCaffrey (brother Max coaches with Miami)
Chiefs connections to Miami Dolphins
Practice squad center Austin Reiter
Wide receivers coach Connor Embree (father Jon coaches with Miami)
DBs coach Dave Merritt (former Dolphin)
RB La'Mical Perine (Dolphins practice squad)
Joe Schad is a journalist covering the Miami Dolphins and the NFL at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jschad@pbpost.com and follow him on Instagram and on X @schadjoe. Sign up for Joe's free weekly Dolphins Pulse Newsletter. Help support our work by subscribing today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Super Bowl 58: How the Dolphins are very connected to the Chiefs and 49ers
