Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa’s weight loss could benefit the offense

Tua Tagovailoa played well enough last season to lead the NFL in passing yards and help the Miami Dolphins finish first in total offense, but there was an element missing from his game. And that element is expected to return in 2024 after losing some offseason weight.

Tua’s strength remains throwing the ball — as head coach Mike McDaniel noted, “Lamar Jackson is not Tua and Tua is not Lamar Jackson” — but the ability to scramble, extend plays and pick up first downs on the ground should be back in his repertoire in 2023.

That simply wasn’t the case last season, when Tua’s mobility was noticeably off the charts from his early NFL seasons, the result of a muscle-building strategy designed to prevent injuries.

The added weight made Tua a nonfactor as a runner in 2023, with a passing percentage (defined by Pro Football Reference as completing 40 percent of needed yards on first down, 60 percent on second down and 100 percent on third or fourth down) of just 20 percent. That was by far the lowest passing percentage of his career.

Let’s not forget that Tagovailoa had a 50 percent success rate on his runs as a rookie in 2020, and who can forget his second start in the NFL, when he made some nifty moves in the open field during scrambles against the Arizona Cardinals.

It’s clearly not all about scrambling. The increased mobility, evident in training camp, will help Tua on pre-designed rollouts or moving into the pocket to evade pass rushers.

Head coach Mike McDaniel suggested it would affect his game decisions and give him more options.

“I think you’re always adapting to the skill set of your players and as you get more experience and you start to see how players use that mobility, you adjust the eligibles,” McDaniel said. “Maybe if there’s a primary part of the progression, you change the back a little bit by spacing the field more than trying to beat a coverage so that when you break out of the pocket, you have an eligible to drop it to. I’m always trying to adjust to the game of all of my players, so I think that part, I think with his focus, definitely contributes to his game, contributes to what we can do as an offense.”

Tua’s increased mobility could give the Dolphins a few extra first downs as the season progresses. Who knows if that will affect their win-loss ratio, but it certainly can’t hurt.

Tagovailoa has grabbed nine first downs rushing over the past two seasons, after collecting 13 in 2020 and 2021.

In addition to the new targets for the passing game — Odell Beckham Jr., Jonnu Smith — the Dolphins should have another way to attack defenses.

Of course, this is where some might balk at the idea of ​​Tua running due to the risk of injury, especially since we’ve only recently had to deal with his concussion.

But what we’re talking about here aren’t designed runs in traffic, because it would be irresponsible of the Dolphins to use Tua in that manner.

We’re talking about how Tua’s increased mobility makes it easier to escape defenders. Although he was never really a speed demon, he was able to move well in his first two seasons.

The responsibility lies with Tua to be smart and avoid unnecessary risks, just as he did in the 2023 season. And the truth is, making smart decisions in the pocket and under pressure helped Tua play a full season more than the weight gain or his jiu-jitsu lessons.

Tua has learned to give up certain plays where the chance of success doesn’t justify the added risk, and he’ll need to continue to do that in 2024. And he certainly shouldn’t consider letting a defensive back play in the open field, as he did a few years ago against Jets defensive back Michael Carter.

The bottom line is that Tagovailoa can absolutely use his increased mobility to support the offense without putting himself in more danger.

The potential additional benefits far outweigh the idea that he is now much more susceptible to injury because he is less fat.

“Well, I think that will do a lot (for my game) by being more mobile, being able to run the ball a little bit more, being able to try to simulate that I’m trying to run the ball a little bit more than pulling it up and being able to surprise someone in a way,” Tua said this on Sunday after signing his contract extension. “I just think being more mobile, being lighter on your feet, everything helps this game and everything in this game helps. That’s kind of the thinking there (of losing weight).”