Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has improved each year that he’s played. That is at every level of football. This year should be no different with that kind of track record. The improvement he makes is yet to be seen. But the prediction is that Tagovailoa’s best projected season is set for 2022. That projection is due to the addition of Tyreek Hill, Sony Michel, and an improved offensive line.
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Best Projected Season Ever Set For Tua Tagovailoa
Tagovailoa will have first-time opportunities in 2022. He has a new coaching staff that believes in him and supports him. The support and belief under the Mike McDaniel watch seem to be a lot stronger than Tagovailoa’s previous NFL coaches. McDaniel said, “You can tell it’s empowering to the player that there’s people that believe in him…we’ve all been in communication to build that relationship and trust,” when asked about Tagovailoa at the NFL Combine. The off-season addition of speedy receivers allows Tagovailoa to succeed with more than one. Additionally, he will have a pro bowl left tackle blocking for him. Having a pro bowl blocker like Terron Armstead will give him talented protection for the first time in his career.
Tagovailoa hasn’t been a bad quarterback. During the 2021 season, he was the best RPO quarterback in the NFL. He produced the most RPO passing yards (847). Tagovailoa was the best red-zone quarterback in the NFL. He had the highest completion percentage of red zone passes with more than 50 attempts (64.8%). He was also the second-best accurate quarterback of passes over 20 yards with at least 20 attempts (48.3% behind Justin Herbert’s 48.4%). Tagovailoa had the fourth-best on target completion percentage (80.1% behind Herbert’s 80.2%). He was even statistically better than division-rival Josh Allen’s first two seasons. He also had statistically similar numbers in his first 16 games as Tom Brady’s first 16 games of his career.
Tagovailoa Received Bad Press
However, Tagovailoa has gotten bad press coverage. That’s because of other quarterbacks selected in his draft class. Tagovailoa’s criticism wouldn’t be so harsh if Justin Herbert or Joe Burrow had the same type of first-two-year stats as Josh Allen, Tom Brady, or Drew Brees did. Many Dolphins fans became angry when they saw the numbers Herbert produced. That anger stemmed from Tagovailoa being selected instead of Herbert. NFL pundits used highlights of bad plays by Tagovailoa to magnify their criticisms. And that bad press coverage ignored the bad highlight plays from other quarterbacks in Tagovailoa’s draft class to focus on his faults.
If drafted by the Los Angeles Chargers or the Cincinnati Bengals, Tagovailoa’s fate would’ve been different. His playmakers would’ve been better. And he would’ve had more passing attempts. His accuracy alone would’ve vindicated his stats with higher passing yard totals and more touchdowns. But the Dolphins have put around him, a team similar to Tagovailoa’s incredible Alabama team. And with three years removed from his hip injury, nothing less than a top-tier performance should come from Tagovailoa’s best projected season.
Tua Tagovailoa’s predicted stats for 2022 are listed below.
391 for 546/ 71.6%/4,574 yards/39 touchdowns/16 interceptions.
The projected stats are based on projections of running backs, receivers, tight ends, Tagovailoa’s seasonal progression, and improved health.
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