Michael Johnson Says Chiefs' Tyreek Hill Couldn't Make US Olympic Sprint Team

Four-time U.S. Olympic gold medalist Michael Johnson advised Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill to, literally, stay in his lane.

Johnson was asked Thursday whether he thought Hill could make the U.S. Olympic team as a sprinter, and he succinctly replied "no" to Drew Davison of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. 

"He knows what his sport is," Johnson said. "That sort of thing picks up steam from other people saying, 'Oh, he can be in the Olympics.'" 

Johnson continued: 

"Honestly the sport is much more complex than people think. These guys are all fast and they're struggling to pick up the concept of a simple start position. Simple to me. Not simple for them. Just like if I went in and tried to be a running back. It looks simple, just take the ball and avoid the defense. It looks simple. It's not simple."

Hill disclosed in January that he has Olympic aspirations.

"Hopefully after this season, if I'm healthy and my mind is still in the right place, I really want to try to qualify for some Olympic teams," he said, per ProFootball Talk's Michael David Smith.

Hill's confidence got a boost when the Chiefs won their first Super Bowl title in 50 years by topping the San Francisco 49ers 31-20 in Super Bowl LIV on Feb. 2. 

The 25-year-old All-Pro is widely regarded as one of the fastest players in the NFL. Hill showed off his speed at several points throughout last season:

That just compounded his already stacked resume entering the 2019-20 campaign:

Hill's ability to get behind defenders is invaluable to the Chiefs' high-flying offense, but Johnson isn't the only one who's hesitant to automatically transfer Hill's skill set to the track.

"No, there's no chance," Usain Bolt, the world's fastest man and eight-time Olympic gold medalist told NBC Sports' Seth Rubinroit in a longer story published last week. "A lot of people think it's about one-off runs, but it's rounds that really show who you are and the amount of work you do. So I think no, he wouldn't make the team."

To Hill's credit, he acknowledged that he wouldn't be able to walk off the football field and immediately into the Olympic team: "But the thing is, I weigh like 195 right now. Back in high school, when I ran a 9.9[-second 100-meter dash], I was like 175. So it would be me changing my whole diet that I've been doing to get to where I am now."

Given that Chiefs general manager Brett Veach barred quarterback Patrick Mahomes from playing basketball after a video of the 2018 NFL MVP playing pickup went viral, Kansas City would probably prefer Hill remain focused on defending their Super Bowl championship in 2020.

The 2020 Tokyo Olympics will begin Friday, July 24, and run until August 9.