Tua Tagovailoa, the Miami Dolphins starting quarterback, was the subject of debate in the NFL before the current campaign’s start. The world remained divided despite his six-touchdown effort in Week 2. It could have been a one-off game. The fact that terrible quarterbacks have played in games of that importance has occasionally been brought up. Tua has proven more than enough to indicate that he is not just a starting QB in the NFL but also maybe talented enough to rival the best in the league for the foreseeable future. I was initially dubious, but now that the NFL season is almost halfway through, I have changed my mind.

I could begin by discussing Tua’s MVP odds and how he went from a long shot to one of the league’s top five. His statistics would be a much better indicator, and believe me when I say that Tua’s advanced metrics don’t just pop off the page; they come at you boldly until you can no longer dispute Tua’s excellence. Let’s start with his 51% DVOA, a statistical indicator of a quarterback’s effectiveness relative to the typical quarterback. Tua is the league’s most insane player.

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The Yards Above Replacement will now be discussed (YAR). Consider this statistic similar to WAR in baseball, a total that aims to condense a player’s value into a single number, in this case, the sum of yards. A player’s chance of having a higher figure increases with the number of pass attempts because this statistic is cumulative. Due to his 2.5-game absences, Tua has 888 YAR, four less than the NFL’s leading quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, who has 892 YAR.

Tua dominates his rivals even when measured by more conventional stats. Concerning yards per attempt, average net yards per attempt, touchdown percentage, and QBR, he leads the NFL. You can’t ignore those numbers, and in my opinion, Tua would be the MVP frontrunner if he hadn’t missed time due to a concussion. Given that Tagovailoa’s current contract runs through 2023 and that he gets along well with McDaniel, Tyreek Hill, and Jaylen Waddle, two receivers, the Dolphins would be foolish not to extend him. As long as they stay together, it’s a match made in heaven, and there’s no reason Tua can’t become elite soon as long as they stick together.