Miami Dolphins rookie quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is still getting accustomed to facing NFL defenses.
While Dolphins head coach Brian Flores has seen some positives and negatives from the No. 5 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, Friday was a different story.
Ryan Fitzpatrick was absent due to personal reasons, leaving the reps at quarterback to Tagovailoa and Josh Rosen.
“On a day when Ryan Fitzpatrick was absent for personal reasons, both Josh Rosen and Tua Tagovailoa got significantly more work,” the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson wrote. “And though Rosen had the better day, both disappointed. Their combined passer rating: a dismal 48.5.
“For Tagovailoa, it was his worst performance over four days of his first training camp.”
That’s not what you want to hear if you’re a Dolphins fan.
“In Tagovailoa’s first six passes, he threw one interception and lofted a second one that probably also should have been picked off,” Jackson wrote.
Jackson also broke down how Tagovailoa fared in 11-on-11 passing drills. There weren’t many highlights.
“Series 1 for Tagovailoa: He double-clutched the snap on first down and threw incomplete,” Jackson wrote. “He completed a 3rd and 7 throw to Jakeem Grant for a 10-yard gain…
“On the next play, he threw a pass with no offensive player in the area and Breon Borders made the interception in what was a clear miscommunication with a receiver… Then he threw a one-yard screen pass to Patrick Laird, who was blown up in the backfield by linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill.”
The next series wasn’t much better.
“Series 2 for Tagovailoa: On the first play, he threw a deep ball – not much oomph on it – to Jakeem Grant,” Jackson wrote. “It should have been picked off by Borders, but Borders fell down and Grant caught it for 40 yards…. Then Tagovailoa made a poor throw to Malcolm Perry on a pass that went incomplete.”
He got better as practice went on, but it was a tough day overall.
“Series 5 for Tagovailoa: On a bootleg, Tua threw to tight end Chris Myarick, who inexplicably didn’t turn around on a pass that went incomplete. He then threw to Grant, who double-clutched, with the ball going off his fingertips,” Jackson wrote. “Then Tua made an excellent back-shoulder pass to rookie Matt Cole for a first down on third and three.
“Series 6 for Tagovailoa: He threw a screen pass to Matt Breida for a loss of two. Then he was sacked by Van Noy. And the series ended with Tagovailoa overthrowing Mike Gesicki, with Eric Rowe in coverage.”
Tagovailoa finished the practice completing just six of his 15 passes for 95 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions.
He will need to improve significantly if the Dolphins plan to play him in 2020.
