Former NFL QB was right about Dolphins' Tua Tagovailoa

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, the highest-rated player at his position in 2023, has been the victim of negative word associations throughout his four-year NFL career. 

Some have questioned his mental toughness and physique. Others have said the former Alabama QB doesn't have the arm strength to throw deep. Tagovailoa was even body-shamed by former NFL player Ryan Clark.

Boy, he sure has made many naysayers eat some big helpings of crow. However, Tagovailoa has always had former Super Bowl-winning QB Trent Dilfer in his corner.

On "The Rich Eisen Show" in 2022, Dilfer said, "The kid is just special."

Four years earlier, Dilfer called Tagovailoa a "generational talent."

"I said it a year and a half ago before he got to Alabama," Dilfer said in 2018, per saturdaydownsouth.com. "I think that he’s a kid that can go through his college career and never lose a game, considering where he’s at. … I mean, he’s that kind of good. The best I’ve ever seen."

That's the highest commendation from a man who has graded and developed QBs for a living. Dilfer, the victorious QB in Super Bowl XXXV for the Baltimore Ravens, was the head coach of Elite 11, a well-known QB competition camp that enhances high school talent. He's now the head coach at Alabama-Birmingham.

Dilfer has had direct on-the-field contact with many QBs in the league, and from his vantage point, there was no doubt Tagovailoa would be successful in the NFL.

"He’s the greatest high school talent I’ve ever seen, and it’s not close. But it’s not just how he throws the ball and his movement skills," Dilfer. "It’s his maturity; it’s his focus; it’s his football IQ; it’s his leadership. It’s everything. He’s the complete package."

Through six games of this season, Tagovailoa is the crème de la crème. He leads the NFL in passing yards (1,876), average yards per completion (9.5) and per game (312.7), and is tied for most touchdown passes (14). Tagovailoa has shown that he is accurate in high-pressure situations thanks to his quick release and training this past offseason in jiu-jitsu, which he credits for avoiding concussions.

It also helps that Tagovailoa has a good relationship with Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel, who knows why his young QB is in the best possible position to succeed.

"He’s the most coachable, best learner I’ve ever been around," McDaniel said, per Clutch Points Jay Postrado. "It’s hard to get better because it’s exhausting and you want to have that feeling of, ‘Man, I’ve arrived.’ That’s not him … The sky’s the limit for him."