Saturday Dolphins Mailbag: Tua Ranking, Waddle's Weight, the Henry-Cook Issue, and More

Where exactly should Tua Tagovailoa rank among NFL QBs? Is the team done adding offensive linemen? Those questions and more from Miami Dolphins fans

Part 1 of the latest SI Fan Nation All Dolphins mailbag:

From Rémi Lesot (@Remi_Lesot):

Salut Alain ! After two sessions of OTAs, is there any position switches on defense ? And which ones ?

Hi Rémi, two quick things here: The media has been allowed to watch one OTA so far because we get one open OTA per week. So we’ll get to see practice again one time next week and then we’ll get to see all three days of the June minicamp. But the team’s practice reporting rules prevent us to describing position changes we observe or who is practicing where. Because he was asked directly during his press conference after reports surfaced, Mike McDaniel did acknowledge that Andrew Van Ginkel will get work at inside linebacker and Trill Williams will get work at safety.

From Big Ern McDolphin (@dana_buice):

Hey my friend, I’m sure you have gone over this before, but I’ve never heard your perspective. Why don’t the Dolphins make the throwbacks permanent? Most Dolphins fans prefer them to their current unis. Most NFL fans rank them among their favorite. What gives?

Hey Dana, my understanding is that it’s as simple as owner Stephen Ross really liking the new unis. The Dolphins have gone through several uniform tweaks through the years, but I honestly never recall any talk about the throwbacks becoming permanent coming from the organization.

From Enabledswing (@enabledswing):

In the last podcast with Omar you commented about Waddle bulking up and were concerned about if he would lose speed because of it. Did he look slower on the field or were you just speculating a possibility?

Glad you asked, as somebody not necessarily familiar with “bulking up,” I was just spitballing that maybe it would be an issue because muscle weighs, therefore he has more to carry naturally. Then I think about D.K. Metcalf, whose muscles have muscles, and see that it’s possible to be ridiculously cut while still being muscular. And to answer your question, I’ve seen Waddle on the field only once this year and didn’t really pay attention to him or notice anything drastically different.

From Jorge boyd (@raga1922):

Hi Alain, too early for Tua questions or not anyways, here goes one: Do you think Tua will be able to throw the deep out ball with accuracy on a consistent basis?

Hey Jorge, it’s never too early or too late for Tua questions! My answer to your question is the same I’d give you from the time he got here, throwing the deep out will never be his forte because that’s just not who he is as a quarterback. Tua is very, very accurate over the middle in the short and intermediate ranges. He absolutely can make accurate throws outside the numbers, but the consistency isn’t there as much and the arm strength can become an issue if we’re talking about throwing downfield.

From Dug-E-Fresssh (@fluflu3):

Alain, you always deliver. It is fitting that spellcheck suggests that your name should be corrected to "Again" - Coaching roles? It's commonsensical that Fangio will take a load off of McDaniel. What are the main items he could/should ADD to McDaniel's head coaching evolution?

Hey there, thanks first. Fangio is a recent head coach, so if McDaniel wanted, he literally could make Fangio the head coach of the defense and it would make perfect sense. If we accept that notion, then McDaniel can focus on the offense and his evolution — as with most coaches — will come in the game management department. For me, that includes getting plays in more quickly and not defaulting to the passing game as quickly as he did last year, no matter how tempting that is with the stupid speed he has outside with Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle.

From FinsUpMass (@paulbdotcom):

Middle linebacker depth is concerning (especially early non passing downs). Anyone available that would be an upgrade?

Hey Paul, I’m assuming you mean inside linebacker because the Dolphins don’t really use a traditional middle linebacker, and I’m not sure they see a great issue with their depth if Andrew Van Ginkel pans out at the spot. Also understand that Vic Fangio’s scheme values coverage linebackers over thumpers, hence adding David Long Jr. and letting Elandon Roberts leave via free agency. Looking at the list of free agents available at linebacker, I don’t see anybody who jumps out, though there are big remaining such as Deion Jones, Myles Jack and Kwon Alexander.

From Mad doggo (@Dogadoodle72):

What do you feel are our most and least skilled position groups?

Hey Doggo, the most skilled position group is a tie between cornerback and wide receiver with a slight, slight edge to cornerback because you have truly elite guys with Jalen Ramsey and Xavien Howard. The least skilled has to be tight end because there’s not one player there, with all due respect for Durham Smythe, who you would say would be snatched up the next day if he were released.

From Jesse (@JesseBlattstein):

Are the Phins eyeing any FA O-Linemen? Do they think Jackson improves mightily? How does the new kickoff rule impact who they keep as special-teamers?

Hey Jesse, excellent questions. Barring injuries, I think they might be done shopping for O-linemen after adding Isaiah Wynn and Cedric Ogbuehi. Yes, they do think Jackson will take a big step in 2023. Being that the kickoff basically is gone now, yes, I do think it could affect something like the last two or three spots on the roster, where maybe special teams no longer is the determining factor.

From Chris Bustin (@ChrisBustin13):

Hey, Alain. I’ve been doing my best to catch up on the All Dolphins Podcast episodes. I was pleasantly surprised when you told Omar that you’d allow someone to rank Tua among the top 10 (but not top 5) quarterbacks. Can you give us reasons for your high ranking? Thanks!

Hey Chris, let me being by saying I haven’t nailed down a precise ranking for Tua. But from where I sit, those are the quarterbacks I definitely would place above him (and I’m pretty sure all GMs would agree): Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Aaron Rodgers, Justin Herbert, Trevor Lawrence, Lamar Jackson, Jalen Hurts and probably Matthew Stafford. Then there’s a second tier that, to me, would include Tua, Deshaun Watson, Kirk Cousins, Dak Prescott, Russell Wilson, Derek Carr and Jimmy Garoppolo, and this is where I’m OK with anybody putting Tua anywhere in that group and why I wouldn’t push back against him being put at 10. Exactly where I would put him, I’ll leave that for another day …

From Not Really Jerry Mathers (@HandsAtlanta):

Everyone is talking about adding Dalvin Cook, but I still have eyes on Derrick Henry. Am I off base here?

Hey there, you’re not off base in the sense that Henry could be more of a difference-maker, but I don’t get the sense that the Titans are trading Henry or cutting Henry, so I see that having even less of a chance of happening than the idea of Dalvin Cook coming to Miami.

From Jayco (@tjc7975):

Is there a role on this team for Chosen Anderson or is he just a camp body?

Hey Jayco, I absolutely do think there’ll be a role on the team for Robbie Chosen (how he’s listed on the roster) provided he shows in training camp he’s still got some mileage left — and I see no reason that wouldn’t be the case. This is a far different situation than the Dolphins added Mohamed Sanu last offseason when his best football clearly was behind him.

From The concrete ocean podcast (@Theconcreteoce1):

What’s up with the punter battle? Does hang time have a chance to beat out Bailey?

Hmm, no sure I get the “hang time” having a chance to beat out Bailey thing, but rookie UDFA Michael Turk (maybe that’s his nickname?) does have a chance to win the job, although understand that he absolutely has to outplay Bailey who was given a guaranteed contract (albeit at very reasonable money). If Bailey shows he’s back to his earlier form from New England before his down year last year, I don’t see Turk being able to beat him out.

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Alain Poupart has covered the Miami Dolphins on a full-time basis since 1989. You can follow him on Twitter at @PoupartNFL. Feel free to submit questions every week for the All Dolphins mailbag via Twitter or via email at fnalldolphins@yahoo.com.