After playing a full season for the first time in 2023, Tagovailoa was again felled by injuries last year, missing four games early in the season with a concussion and the final two weeks with a hip injury. He played well in between, but the Dolphins altered their offense to minimize risk and account for a poor offensive line. Tua's average target depth dropped by more than two yards, to a mere 5.6, the lowest of any 300-attempt QB since David Carr in 2006 (5.5). Tagovailoa slashed his deep-passing rate nearly in half -- from 9.8 percent in 2023 to a league-low 5.0 last year -- and led the league in WR screen percentage. He got the ball out quicker than any QB, with an average time to throw of 2.42 seconds, making him highly dependent on yards after the catch -- two-thirds of his yardage came from YAC, easily the most in the league. It also made the Dolphins far less explosive (45 plays of at least 20 yards, 31st, after 76 in 2023, 4th) and made De'Von Achane the league leader in receptions, yards and receiving TDs by a running back. The Dolphins return their top skill players, but swapped out TE Jonnu Smith (Steelers) for the formerly retired Darren Waller, and Tyreek Hill is unhappy (not hard to see why) after playing through a wrist injury all last season. Unfortunately, the team did little to improve its offensive line this offseason, making it hard to get excited about the new-scheme Tagovailoa even though he's an accurate passer with excellent weapons.
