NFL Insider: Tua Can't 'Carry' Dolphins' Offense Without Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle

Tua Tagovailoa may be putting up MVP-caliber stats, but some around the NFL are not convinced he's a true franchise cornerstone.

Mike Sando of The Athletic spoke to one NFL talent evaluator who said Tagovailoa is a Tier 2 quarterback.

"I think he is a 2 now," the insider said. "His vision is ridiculous. He is not overly talented. He can't move. But he can throw it so early into holes nobody else will, so that he gets more than what his talent allows because of his mental capacity. I like him. He is as accurate as anybody in the NFL. But if they did not have those two receivers, he cannot carry the offense."

Here is how Sando defines a Tier 2 quarterback for the voters' purposes: "A Tier 2 quarterback can carry his team sometimes but not as consistently. He can handle pure-passing situations in doses and/or possesses other dimensions that are special enough to elevate him above Tier 3. He has a hole or two in his game."

Tagovailoa leads the NFL with 3,697 passing yards and has thrown 24 touchdowns against 10 interceptions to lead Miami to a 9-4 record. He's coming off one of his worst performances of the season, throwing for 240 yards, failing to record a touchdown, and taking five sacks in an upset loss to the Tennessee Titans.

The performance dropped Tagovailoa to +2000 to win the NFL MVP at DraftKings, even putting him behind teammate Tyreek Hill (+1600). Hill, Jaylen Waddle and the scheming of head coach Mike McDaniel have gotten a ton of credit for Tagovailoa's success, with some giving him the "system quarterback" label.

That said, even if some of Tagovailoa's success is a result of those around him, he's still out there making all the throws to put Miami in Super Bowl contention. Given the state of quarterback play around the league, that's a lot more than most other teams can say.