If there is one thing that the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins have in common, it’s that they were seeking for a franchise quarterback from when both Jim Kelly and Dan Marino were in the league. The biggest difference now is that the Bills have one with Josh Allen, and the Dolphins think they have one with Tua Tagovailoa.
Coming out of Alabama in 2020, the Dolphins elected to spend the 5th overall pick on Tua in hopes that he could be the franchise quarterback the organization had been missing since Marino. Now don’t get me wrong, Tua is a very accurate quarterback but there is no “wow factor” to his game. He’s not as mobile as others and he doesn’t have a strong arm either. Not to mention, Tua's long injury history (especially with concussions) has been a main part of his journey in the NFL.
Again, I do believe that Tua is an accurate quarterback who can make some solid plays. However, it does help that he has playmakers all over the offense and has a head coach in Mike McDaniel who has helped Tua grow in his career. At the same time, it just shows that everything has to be perfect in order for him to succeed.
Dolphins' QB Tua Tagovailoa is an overrated QB going into 2025 season
Cody Benjamin from CBS Sports recently listed Tua Tagovailoa as one of the most overrated quarterbacks going into the 2025 season, along with Dak Prescott and Kyler Murray. Here’s a bit on what Benjamin said about Tua:
"He's missed multiple games due to injury in all but one of his five NFL campaigns, and his crisp accuracy hasn't been nearly as apparent in critical off-script situations, making Miami incredibly dependent on coach Mike McDaniel's script."Cody Benjamin, CBS Sports
The 2023 season was the only season where he has stayed healthy for an entire season. He’s only thrown for over 4,000 yards once in five seasons and has never thrown for 30 passing touchdowns in a season. He’s not a bust of a player, but he sure isn’t a great one either. Being very dependent on the players around him and having a coach like McDaniel has been beneficial for him. Before all of the help he got, Tua’s career was going downhill with Brian Flores as the head coach in Miami.
Tua is not leading the Dolphins to an AFC East championship, especially with Josh Allen in the division. He has brought the Dolphins to the playoffs, but due to his inability to be effective in colder weather, they won’t be going far at all.