The Miami Dolphins selected Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa with the No. 5 pick in Thursday night’s NFL draft with hopes he will be the answer to their long-standing franchise quarterback question.
After months of debate about whether to take Tagovailoa or Oregon’s Justin Herbert, the Dolphins made their choice clear by going with the left-handed signal caller who has the talent to change a franchise if he stays healthy.
Dolphins general manager Chris Grier and coach Brian Flores did substantial homework on each of the top quarterbacks, but it was their desire for a signal-caller that exuded leadership, charisma, the “it factor,” accuracy and playmaking ability that made Tagovailoa their preferred choice.
Tagovailoa was the most efficient quarterback in college football history with a 199.4 career passer efficiency. He has the best career touchdown-interception ratio (7.91, 87 TDs to 11 INTs) in FBS history with a minimum of 70 passing touchdowns. He also has the best QBR (93.5) and yards per attempt (10.88) of any quarterback since at least 2004.
Many Dolphins fans will be ecstatic with this pick. A group of them began the “Tank for Tua” campaign that became popular throughout the 2019 season, and even though the Dolphins ultimately didn’t tank, winning five of their last nine games for a 5-11 finish, they still ended up with their guy.
Tagovailoa’s biggest question mark is health. He dealt with several injuries at Alabama, including a fractured left index finger, a right knee sprain and bilateral ankle injuries. But none was bigger than a hip dislocation and wall fracture that ended his 2019 season in November and required surgery. The situation was complicated when NFL shut down team facilities and prevented organizations, including the Dolphins, from bringing in Tagovailoa for medical evaluations with their own doctors and in-person workouts due to the coronavirus panademic.
Tagovailoa told ESPN this month that he is 100 percent healthy following the November surgery to repair his right posterior wall fracture and dislocated hip. The two orthopedic surgeons directly involved in his surgery and recovery also told ESPN’s Stephania Bell that he will be fully healthy to participate in football activity when NFL training camps open.
Ultimately, it’s still a calculated risk. But Miami felt good enough about the Tagovailoa package to take a chance on the talented quarterback.
It’s been 20 years since Dan Marino, the Dolphins’ last true franchise quarterback, retired. It’s been 24 seasons since the Dolphins last had a Pro Bowl quarterback. They hope that, with Tagovailoa, all of that will change sooner than later.
However, the Dolphins may not expect Tagovailoa to jump into those expectations quite yet.
Ryan Fitzpatrick, 37, likely will be the favorite to begin the season as the Dolphins’ starting quarterback due to his familiarity with the team and offensive coordinator Chan Gailey in a shortened offseason. But he has welcomed the idea of mentoring a rookie QB. Tagovailoa should have a smooth transition learning under Fitzpatrick.
Dolphins fans can rejoice because they know have their quarterback — one that many of them wanted for over a year — and now the job turns toward protecting him.
