Sunday Dolphins Mailbag: Tua Topics, Tight Ends, Trades, And More

How different does QB Tua Tagovailoa look from last summer? Should the team feel confident about its tight end situation? Those and other questions from Miami Dolphins fans

Part 3 of the latest SI Fan Nation All Dolphins mailbag around the preseason finale against the Philadelphia Eagles:

From CJ (@despondito):

What are some realistic rankings for the run game year? Anything above 16?

Hey CJ, the first question I would have for you is, what metric are we talking about? Yards per game? Yards per carry? In either case, I do think it’s realistic to hope for a top 15 finish because the offensive line should be better, because the running backs are much better, and because Mike McDaniel is highly regarded around the NFL for his innovative run game concepts. Could we even go as far as top 10 rushing attack? Yes, I don’t think that’s out of the realm of possibility.

From Larry Bury (LarryBury):

Does our TE situation inspire confidence? If not, why?

Hey Larry, of course it does. Why wouldn’t it? In Durham Smythe, the Dolphins have a pretty solid blocking tight end and Mike Gesicki is a proven receiving tight end who could contribute in the passing game. Are we talking about Kelce/Kettle/Waller territory? No. But I think the Dolphins tight end group is more than serviceable.

From Bob Curvelo (@curvelo13):

Do you see any trades and/or surprising cuts coming between now and week 1?

Hey Bob, if I see them coming, then they’re not surprising, amirite? OK, serious answer, yes, I do think it’s entirely possible we could see the Dolphins making a splash move either via trade or by cutting a well-known player. But I don’t know that I would expect it, either. So let’s call it 50-50.

From Ken Dasher (@kdash65):

I appreciate & respect you, so this is NOT me trolling. That said I think I remember you posting that Tua is the same QB you've seen in the past. This seems to imply that you haven't seen growth. Yet I read other media commenting on his growth in processing & strength. Thoughts?

Hey Ken, I appreciate and respect you as well and I’m not taking any offense whatsoever. To answer your question, I see pretty much the same QB I’ve seen in the past, keeping in mind that we’re talking about practice and the preseason now. The talent around him is clearly better and if Tyreek Hill is going to be open by 5 yards, it’s more than likely that Tua will get him the ball, just the same as it was last year whenever any of the receivers, particularly Jaylen Waddle, got wide open. As far as this notion of increased arm strength, I just haven’t seen it. Sorry. Maybe that notion is out there because there has been a concerted effort to throw deep passes to Hill in practice and the media (social and otherwise) has been all over it, whereas that didn’t happen last year. As a final thought, I don’t control what other media members see, say or write and I’m not going to follow the wave just because somebody else is suggesting something that I’m not seeing. And I hope that doesn’t get misconstrued as me being “a hater,” it’s strictly reporting what I’m seeing without agenda or giving folks what they want to hear or read.

From DetroitSportsPodcast (@DetroitPodcast):

How many MVPs is QB Tua Tagovailoa going to win?

Hey DSP, I guess the smart-ass answer here would be: certainly more than Jared Goff. But I like the question because it allows me to bring up the aforementioned Jared Goff because there’s a correlation there with Tua. Like Mike McDaniel, Sean McVay is a product of the Mike Shanahan coaching tree, and Goff had major success in that style of offense after McVay became Rams head coach. Goff had a passer rating above 100 in each of McVay’s first two seasons with the Rams, and it says here that Tua is every bit the quarterback that Goff is, even probably better. So Dolphins fans certainly should look at that as a major reason for optimism heading into the 2022 season.

From sol survivor (@2020Kev):

Any hopes of signing a decent CB or OL help before Pats game?

Hey Kev, absolutely rest assured that the Dolphins are going to be scouring the waiver wire on a daily basis (actually already have been) to see who becomes available and who could provide help at any position, including cornerback and the offensive line. That said, I will caution — as I’ve always done — about getting overly excited about picking up players who were dumped by another team. Why? There’s a reason the player’s previous team let him go.

From Ed (@IsEdandyou):

How many games will the Dolphins win? I think 9 and no playoffs, a combination of bad luck/injuries, bad OL, and mediocre QB.

Hey Ed, I’m not at the point where I’m ready to make predictions on the final record, but I would take issue with some of your reasoning, starting with bad luck/injuries and how you can predict that. Second, the OL was bad last year and the Dolphins won nine games and the talent on and around the offensive line is much better this year. Lastly, I’m of the opinion that Tua will do well in this offensive scheme, which will feature a lot of misdirection and bootlegs, all of which play into Tua’s strengths.

From B (@BigSportFan37):

This may sound dumb, but is Wilson at risk? Not hearing his name in practice or games. Hill, Waddle and Ezukanma are locks, Sherfield has ST value and has been useful on O, Cracraft has been solid, and there are others worth keeping. And if the cap hit is unreasonable, any buyer’s remorse?

Hey B, you might not have heard Wilson’s name this summer as much as Hill, Waddle or Ezukanma, to name just three, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t had a good performance. On the contrary, he has been solid and is still in line to get the third-most action at wide receiver after Hill and Waddle. Based on his contract and the cap implications, there is zero chance Wilson would get cut. They could trade him at minimal cap cost, but there’s no reason to believe that Wilson isn’t the guy the Dolphins signed in the offseason, and if they liked him enough to make that move in March, why would that have changed at this point? Answer: It hasn’t.