Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
ESPN commentators weigh in on Tua, draft
Sports fans may tend to get upset when national reporters and commentators weigh in on their local teams, but Miami Dolphins fans might like what they heard from ESPN on Friday morning.
ESPN’s “First Take” panelists Stephen A. Smith and Max Kellerman were both fair in their criticisms of starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and supportive in the Dolphins’ efforts to build around him.
Smith said the Dolphins should build around Tagovailoa by targeting Florida tight end Kyle Pitts with the No. 6 pick in the 2021 NFL draft.
“Here’s my thing: I’m willing to give [Tagovailoa] a chance and believe in him. Just tell me you’re going to get him the requisite weapons,” Smith said.
“Because [tight end Mike] Gesicki and [receiver DeVante] Parker, these brothers might be able to play. Nobody is saying they’re scrubs by any stretch of the imagination, but nobody is calling them all-world either.
“I think when we hear about this guy Pitts out of Florida, who’s a tight end, whose a generational kinda talent … I think if you’re the Dolphins and you really, really want to secure the future with Tua, you have to get him weapons like that.”
Kellerman said Tagovailoa was a special talent at Alabama with a “championship mentality” that should not be discounted after he was 6-3 as Dolphins starter with 11 touchdowns and five interceptions, an average quarterback rating of 52.5 in nine starts last season.
“There was a reason everyone believed in Tua … should we not believe [in Tua] based on his rookie season? I don’t think so,” Kellerman
said.
“I think he looked like a rookie. … He struggled as young quarterbacks do. He didn’t really get the ball down the field a whole lot, but I don’t think that’s going to be an ongoing issue. I think that’s an issue of aggression that comes as he learns what he’s doing.”
Tagovailoa had just two games with more than 300 yards passing and failed to throw more than two touchdowns in any game and did not have a completion longer than 35 yards this season.
Kellerman believes Tagovailoa can improve from a “low-average starting quarterback as a rookie” to “a solid starting quarterback, a middle of the pact quarterback with the arrow pointing up” by the end of next season.
Smith said Tagovailoa appeared “incredibly undersized” compared to the defensive and offensive linemen he was bunched around, adding “vision appeared to be an issue at times for me.”
“I’ve got faith in Tua Tagovailoa. I wish him nothing but the best. Great kid and a lot of great ability. We saw that on the collegiate level,” Smith said.
Smith later said about the Dolphins: “I think they really need to prioritize, if you have faith in Tua, to get him a tight end like Pitts and see where it goes from there.”
Kellerman agreed with the Pitts take, adding Alabama receiver duo DeVonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle would also be ideal picks for the Dolphins if Pitts is already drafted.
Overall, both are optimistic about Tagovailoa and the Dolphins future.
“I think they’re on the right course, and they’re live in the AFC East,” Kellerman said.
“I think so, also,” Smith said.