Tua Tagovailoa has played at an MVP level over the past two seasons when healthy, but at least one analyst believes the Miami Dolphins should consider moving on from the quarterback.
FOX Sports football analyst Joel Klatt has been saying for weeks that he thinks the Dolphins should draft Michael Penix Jr. in the first round. Klatt shared his rationale during the latest episode of his podcast, which was released on Thursday. He explained that he does not view Tagovailoa as the ideal fit in Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel’s offense but believes Penix would be.
“This is not an indictment on Tua in the NFL as much as it is fit. When you watch Miami and what they really do, what they need is a guy that throws on time with great leverage and accuracy down the field," Klatt said. "There just so happens to be a guy that that is his best attribute sitting there available, and that’s Michael Penix. I still want to see Michael Penix with Mike McDaniel’s offense and Tyreek Hill.”
Klatt acknowledged that Tagovailoa has made great strides over the past few seasons, but pointed to the fact that Tua has underthrown Hill on many plays. The analyst feels Miami could be even better with Penix because of his arm strength and deep ball.
You can hear more from Klatt below:
Tagovailoa led the NFL with 4,624 passing yards last season. He had 29 touchdown passes compared to 14 interceptions during the regular season. Tua and the Dolphins played poorly in a cold-weather loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the postseason, but all indications have been that Miami wants to keep the former Alabama star.
Critics of Tagovailoa argue that he has only thrived because of McDaniel’s system. McDaniel has made it clear that he can’t stand that narrative.
There is no guarantee that Penix will succeed in the NFL. Tagovailoa has already shown he can play at a high level, even if the Dolphins have failed to make a deep postseason run with him. Miami would need a lot of conviction in Penix to go the route that Klatt suggested they should.
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