Miami Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill Speaks Out About ‘Cheat Motion’ Controversy

Apparently there is a movement to better regulate the so-called ‘cheat motion’, an offensive tactic that proved very effective for the Miami Dolphins last season.

You could argue that no team benefited more from this in 2023 than the Dolphins, as Tyreek Hill got a head start on his route by sprinting into motion just before the snap.

But the suggestion, as Pro Football Talk first reported, is that the league wants to emphasize making sure receivers don’t try to catch defenders offside with a sudden move or move toward the line of scrimmage at the snap.

According to PFT, an addition has been made to Rule 7, Article 4, Section 2 of the Official Rules of the Game, which states: “Any eligible backfield player who changes stance need not come to a complete standstill prior to the snap as long as his actions are not abrupt (false start) or forward (illegal motion).”

Two important points need to be made here: First, Hill was never penalized for illegal forward motion last season, but there were certainly a few instances where it appeared he was turned up after getting into motion before the ball was snapped. Second, unless we’ve forgotten our rules, it was always illegal to move forward at the snap.

Perhaps we interpret this to mean that the NFL will ask officials to be more vigilant and watch for players moving forward before the snap after they have begun to move, as Hill did or the way 49ers tackle Trent Williams sometimes did after being declared tackle-eligible.

The conclusion we can draw from this is that Hill may not be allowed to start early in 2024 at all as officials keep a closer eye on the infraction.

When asked about the development after practice on Thursday, Hill said it was the first he had heard of it.

Then it sounded like he didn’t care at all.

“Our head coach, he’s going to find a way around that,” Hill said. “He does a great job of figuring out schemes to get us open. That’s why he’s one of the best offensive-minded coaches in the game.

“I don’t think we’ll have a problem with that.”

Hill then predicted that McDaniel would employ a new trick to further inhibit opposing defenses, much like he did with his frequent use of the jet motion, or “cheat motion,” as 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan called it.

“It’s crazy,” Hill said. “But I feel like we do have some plays that are going to surprise teams, because teams are already looking for certain moves when I line up a certain way or when (Jaylen) Waddle lines up a certain way.

“So we’ll have a couple of packages or a couple of motions that are like, ‘Oh, where did that come from?’ (and) it’ll catch the defense off guard out of nowhere. It’s going to be fun this year, man.”