THE FULL SCOPE: Tua Tagovailoa has played in 23 games as a Miami Dolphin. The former 5th overall pick has only finished 17 games due to injury. Essentially, he’s played one full season of actual football for the Dolphins. For reference, Justin Herbert threw the ball 672 times last year. Tua has thrown the ball 678 times in his entire career. His stats in those games consists of 4467 yards, 27 touchdowns, 15 interceptions, and a 66.2 completion percentage. Additionally, he’s added six rushing touchdowns on the ground. Has that translated to wins? Absolutely. The Dolphins are 12-5 in those games. By all accounts, that normally would be considered successful. However, there’s a new phrase circulating that states “wins are not a QB stat.” While there’s some truth to that, no one has ever said that about Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, or any other top tier QB. They’re deemed as incredible winners. Especially early on in their careers, most QB’s heavily lean on their supporting casts while they figure it out. How the distinction’s applied is simply due to how your career progresses over time.

In todays age, the previously stated phrase is typically placed on guys exactly in the spot Tagovailoa is in. He’s proved he can play at this level and help a team win, but no one has any idea how good he can actually become. Criticism and comparison is especially amplified when draft mates Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert have storied starts to their career. Is it fair? Absolutely not. The game is the game, though. When the Dolphins lose, Tua gets the majority of the blame. When the Dolphins win, Tua only gets a fraction of the credit. The God’s honest truth about Tagovailoa’s career is that so far, he hasn’t been set up to succeed. This means we simply don’t know how good he can be at this point. He’s had more offensive coordinators than seasons played, a historically bad offensive line, bottom three rushing attack, extremely thin WR room, and a former head coach that publicly turned against him. Despite that, he’s found a way to keep the games close, preserves leads, and win when needed.

In spite of the circus surrounding him, we’ve learned that Tagovailoa is the consummate professional. By all accounts, he’s beloved in the locker room and as respected a leader. For Tua and the Dolphins, the off-season has been headline filled. Head coaching change, roster turnover and more recently, Brady controversy. Regardless, Tagovailoa has handled it all in stride. He shows up every day, handling the media storm and internal organizational pressure better than you could ask for. For Tagovailoa individually, the silver lining is the supporting cast is greatly improved this season. From the head coach to the OL, RB & WR rooms and general support from national and local media, Tagovailoa seems to be getting everything he needs to succeed at this point. For the first time in his professional career he can just focus on football.

The reports from Dolphins camp tells us that he’s assuredly taken full advantage of this opportunity. He’s in the best shape he’s ever been in. His timing and velocity are both visibly improved. The deep ball, which has been the biggest question mark, looks like everything we all expected when he was drafted. The expectations to win are as high as they’ve been in a long time. So, what does success look like for Tua in 2022? Realistically? Simply playing well enough to make the playoffs. Protect the ball. Make your “layups” as I like to say. Tua will finally be able to trust in a system now built for him. The supporting cast is as talented as you can hope for. He likely won’t be a top 10 QB this year. But the beautiful part is, he doesn’t have to. Make no mistake, the pressure is on. But, it always has been and always will be until he shows and proves. Progress is all that matters. Simply put, the stage for Tagovailoa to silence all doubters and prove every supporter right is all in front of him. At this point, what more could you ask for if you’re Tagovailoa?

Statistical Prediction: 3700 yards. 31 passing touchdowns. 67% completion percentage. 14 INT’s. 3 rushing touchdowns. 11-6 record. Wild Card playoff berth.