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Dolphins' Tyreek Hill Says Tua Tagovailoa Tops Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes in Accuracy
June 11, 2022
Arm strength has been a major question mark surrounding Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa since he entered the NFL, but new Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill believes Tua is elite in another area.
Speaking about his trade from the Kansas City Chiefs to the Dolphins on his YouTube channel (beginning at the 41:30 mark), Hill praised Tagovailoa, especially for his accuracy:
Hill was asked who has the stronger arm between Tagovailoa and Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (h/t ProFootballTalk's Mike Florio), to which Hill responded: "Obviously, like I'm gonna go with 15 [Mahomes] as the strongest arm but as far as accuracy-wise, I'm going with Tua all day."
Mahomes has enjoyed far more success in the NFL than Tua, having racked up an NFL MVP award, a Super Bowl win and a Super Bowl MVP, but with Hill making the move to Miami, Tagovailoa now has the best weapon he has ever thrown to in his young career.
Hill continued to praise Tua during the discussion, suggesting he can make all the throws an NFL quarterback needs to in order to be successful:
"I've had a chance to see Tua throw the ball, to myself, but ... he's that dude, bro. Like, what a lot of people don’t know, like, I'm not just sitting here just saying this because he's my quarterback now. ... Like, I'm not trying to get more targets right now, but what I'm trying to say is Tua is that deal, bro. ... Bro, he has a heck of an arm, bro. He's accurate. He can throw the deep ball, and he actually goes through his reads, where people are like on Twitter like saying, 'Oh, he doesn't go through his reads.' Man, this dude is that dude."
Tagovailoa, 24, was the No. 5 pick by the Dolphins in the 2020 draft after a spectacular collegiate career at Alabama, although there were some concerns about his durability after he suffered significant hip and ankle injuries.
Tagovailoa has missed some time due to injury in his first two NFL seasons, but he has also had some success, going 13-8 as a starter.
In 23 appearances, Tagovailoa has completed 66.2 percent of his passes for 4,467 yards, 27 touchdowns and 15 interceptions, which are decent numbers, but they don't jump off the page or come close to approaching what Mahomes has done as a four-time Pro Bowler in his four seasons as a starter.
If Tagovailoa is going to play at a Pro Bowl level and get the Dolphins to the playoffs, the time to do so is now, as he has been given essentially every tool to succeed.
Hill is front and center in that regard as a six-time Pro Bowler and three-time first-team All-Pro, and he believes his versatility will go a long way toward helping Tagovailoa evolve:
"I love the deep ball, but guess what though? I done expanded my game. So now I'm doing a lot more than just the deep ball now. I'm doing intermediate routes. I'm doing short routes. So now I actually need a guy who can just get me the ball now, on a dagger route, on a corner route, on a shallow cross route. You know, right now, right in my chest. So I can do the rest. I make you look good now."
The Dolphins haven't reached the playoffs since 2016 and have just one playoff appearance over the past 13 seasons and two over the past 20 seasons, so there is a sense of urgency to turn things around.
The New England Patriots' lengthy run of dominance in the AFC East is over, but another AFC East power has formed in the Buffalo Bills and quarterback Josh Allen, who have had the Dolphins' number in recent years.
The Dolphins now have a chance to hang with Buffalo's high-powered offense thanks to the presence of Hill, but whether they can overtake the Bills is largely dependent on Tagovailoa improving by leaps and bounds.