ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith recently argued that Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa isn’t the clear-cut NFL MVP right now. Dolphins star wide receiver Tyreek Hill came to his quarterback’s defense against Smith.
Tyreek Hill responds to Stephen A. Smith and all the critics hating on Tua on his podcast (@cheetah_podcast) and it’s 🔥
“For Stephen A. Smith to go out of his way and say that Tua isn’t worthy of being the MVP it’s crazy to me. I’m sick of people bashing my QB for no reason.… pic.twitter.com/h9yIO40o5i
— King of Phinland🐬👑 (@KingOfPhinland) October 19, 2023
“I’m sick and tired of people bashing my quarterback for no reason,” Hill said. “I’m sick of it. I’m standing on the table and saying I’m sick of people bashing my quarterback. He’s been doing a hell of a job this year and people need to stop giving him crap.”
Tagovailoa was the No. 5 overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft after a stint playing college football at the University of Alabama and has played all four of his seasons in the NFL with the Dolphins franchise.
He is enjoying the best season of his NFL career so far during the 2023 regular season. Tagovailoa has thrown for a league-best 1,876 yards and 14 touchdowns in six games played with the Dolphins this season. Also, the 6-foot-1 quarterback is leading the league in yards gained per pass attempt (9.5), passing yards per game (312.7) and quarterback rating (114.1).
“The quarterback is the hardest position in the league, and for a guy to be even considered to be MVP, that’s next level,” Hill said. “And for Stephen A. Smith to just go out of his way and say that Tua isn’t worthy of being MVP, it’s crazy. It’s crazy to me.”
Hill was drafted with the No. 165 overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft and is in his second season with the Dolphins after spending the first six seasons of his pro career playing for the Kansas City Chiefs. Like Tagovailoa, Hill is putting up monster numbers with Miami this season.
The 29-year-old has arguably been the best wide receiver in the NFL through six games, seeing as how he has racked up a league-best 814 receiving yards and six receiving touchdowns while also averaging a whopping 135.7 receiving yards per game.
The wide receiver is on track to improve upon his excellent numbers with the Dolphins during the 2022 regular season, his first season in Miami. Hill accumulated seven receiving touchdowns, 1,710 receiving yards and 77 first downs receiving in 17 games played with the Dolphins a season ago.
Tagovailoa’s gaudy passing numbers and the fact that he’s led the Dolphins to an excellent 5-1 record so far indicate that he’s an early contender for the NFL MVP award.
“Besides Lamar Jackson, all of the past MVPs, they had guys, they had receivers to throw the ball to…just because a guy has talent around him now, it doesn’t mean he’s not worthy of being a candidate.”
But the quarterback will need to continue to play at a very high level and lead the Dolphins to wins for the remainder of the 2023 regular season in order to be seriously considered for the award, and Miami fans should be confident that he will.
A road win against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday would only help strengthen Tagovailoa’s case to win MVP.
