"Never thought Tua Tagovailoa is a franchise QB" - Skip Bayless does not have faith in Dolphins QB to lead franchise
Despite the fact that the Miami Dolphins are on a seven-game winning streak, FOX Sports analyst Skip Bayless is still not sold on quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
Over the past few weeks, Tagovailoa has become one of the most accurate quarterbacks in the NFL with a 70.1 percent completion rate, 15 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
But despite his improving numbers, Bayless remains without much faith in the former Alabama quarterback. Speaking on his show, Undisputed, Bayless expressed doubt over how far one "can go with [Tua Tagovailoa]".
"I didn't think he was (a franchise quarterback) while he was at Alabama," said Bayless. "I just don't know how far you can go with him."
Strong words, considering the fact that Tagaovailoa won a national championship coming off the bench as a freshman for the Crimson Tide.
Shannon Sharpe offers opinion on Tua Tagovailoa
Bayless' partner on Undisputed, Shannon Sharpe, had another point of view. Sharpe still believes that Tua Tagaovailoa can be a franchise quarterback for the Dolphins and that the issue has less to do with his play than with who the franchise has surrounded him with.
"Skip, he's still improving as a young quarterback, I still believe he can be a franchise quarterback, he's just still learning," Sharpe said.
Outside of former Alabama teammate and wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, the quarterback doesn't have a lot of talent on the offensive side of the ball. Sharpe pointed out that the Dolphins do not have a strong running game and not a lot of great wide receivers.
"It's hard to argue, seven straight wins and Tua won six of those," Sharpe said. "I think a lot of this has to do with them (the team) not allowing him to push it downfield. They haven't gotten out of the wide receiving core outside Waddle and Gesicki, what they had hoped."
Sharpe did agree, however, that Tua Tagovailoa still needed to continue to get better at his fundamentals. He pointed out that he came out in the same class as Justin Herbert and Joe Burrow, and many people are making comparisons to them.
Herbert is going to the Pro Bowl, and Burrow just threw for over 500 yards against the Baltimore Ravens.
A lot of Dolphins fans and NFL analysts want to see more out of Tua Tagovailoa, especially knowing the numbers he put up in Alabama. But as has been pointed out in the past, he was surrounded by better talent and better coaching in college.
The Dolphins haven't really yet cut Tagovailoa loose offensively and let him just chuck it down the field.
Another thing the Dolphins are struggling with is their poor offensive line play. Tua Tagaovailoa has already been hurt a few times this season because his offensive line hasn't helped him a lot. But despite all of that, he still has his team on the verge of making the playoffs, which proves you don't have to put up superstar caliber numbers in order to be a rising star in this league.