2023 NFL Season: Evaluation 3 darkhorse MVP candidates

2023 NFL Season: Evaluation 3 darkhorse MVP candidates

Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins

The 2022 season was an interesting one for Tua Tagovailoa, who looked like an MVP candidate for most of the year, but he missed a few games because of concussions, and many began to think that he should have retired due to the way those injuries happened.

I can’t imagine how scary it must’ve been for Tagovailoa to go through all of that, but he seems to have reinvented himself for the 2023 NFL season.  He is showing off a clear weight gain, as evidenced by this picture that circulated social media a while ago.

His Pro Football Reference page lists him as 6’1″, 217lbs, but this picture clearly shows the fourth-year QB at a heavier weight.  He’s most definitely pushing 230lbs here, which is interesting.  He is a bit smaller with his height, so the weight gain was surely done to soften the blows of some of the hits that he will take.

He also apparently did some jiu-jitsu this offseason to try and learn how to fall to the ground safely to avoid taking shots to the head.  This QB has gone above and beyond to try and stay healthy.  Couple that with the Miami Dolphins being another year immersed in Mike McDaniel’s system, and it’s easy to see how Tua can play quite well in 2023.

He did toss 25 touchdowns against eight interceptions in 13 games for Miami in 2022, earning a passer rating of 105.5, which led the NFL.  He also led the NFL in yards gained per completion, which tells us that he was completing a lot of low-percentage throws farther down the field.

Between Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, and the other pass catchers on the Dolphins’ roster, they’ll all have another year of chemistry together.  I think this makes life easier for them on the field as there is less of an adjustment with the new offense.

I’d expect the Dolphins’ offense to hit the ground running in the 2023 NFL season.