Buckle in, Dolphins fans. The next two months are going to get bumpy. All we’ve heard over the course of the past 12 months is how Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa serves as the apple of Miami’s eye. The “Tank For Tua” campaign was kicked off in March of 2019 and ran all the way through until it became clear that Miami wasn’t going to have the #1 overall pick — but once Joe Burrow’s ascension to the top of the 2020 quarterback landscape was complete, the potential marriage was revived once more.
But now, at least one South Florida outlet is hearing that the Tagovailoa/Dolphins marriage is anything but a sure thing. The Miami Herald’s Armando Salguero reported yesterday that the Dolphins may be bracing themselves for a pivot.
“The (Dolphins’) view of Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is not of a slam-dunk pick near the top the draft. At least not yet. The Dolphins will go through the process of vetting Tagovailoa at the Combine and beyond, as other teams will, before deciding if he’s worth the No. 5 overall selection, which Miami holds in the first round of the April draft,” writes Salguero.
“Secondly, the club has an increasingly positive view of Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert.”
Oh. This development could be one that shell shocks the Dolphins fan base, should it come to fruition. Salguero continues in his report to mention that Herbert has “advocates” among Miami’s personnel department and in draft meetings at this time — a reasonable consideration. After all, Herbert has the best physical tools of any of the top three passers. But does he have IT?
That will be the question the Dolphins must be comfortable with before potentially opting to pass trading up for Tagovailoa — or in an even more shocking move, passing on Tagovailoa in favor of Herbert with the 5th pick. Because even though the Dolphins are right to be resistant to marrying themselves to Tagovailoa until they get a more thorough assessment of his hip health and general durability, Tagovailoa definitely has that innate feel for the game.
The same can’t be said with confidence about Herbert — and making a big investment in another quarterback who doesn’t have the intangibles to elevate his teammates would leave the Dolphins little margin for error in their bid to return to glory.
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