However, nothing trumps the growth of Tagovailoa. He led the NFL in three different categories each of the past three seasons (passing rating, passer yards and completion percentage), yet still has room to expand his skill set. Head Coach Mike McDaniel was asked what stands out about the sixth-year southpaw.
“The ownership and conviction of how he’s playing the position is probably responsible for not having any interceptions,” McDaniel said. “He’s being aggressive. I think the culmination of deliberate practice over the hours and hours and hours of work, his ownership of the game and his position within the offense I think is evident every time we step out on the field.”
Tagovailoa was sharp Wednesday, particularly throwing the ball into tight windows. He threw passes to blanketed wide receivers on two occasions, once to Nick Westbrook-Ikhine and another to Jaylen Waddle. Already a strength of his game, Tagovailoa’s placement was on point. He consistently put the ball in the only place where his guy could make the catch.
“He’s having a great camp, throwing dots,” outside linebacker Quinton Bell said. “He’s making tough throws that’s even tougher for us to pick off. Some of the throws he’s making are just unbelievable. We’ve got guys in right positions, but the ball is just a better ball.”
Waddle was in the orange jersey (given to the practice player of the previous day), continuing his electrifying camp. He caught a pass behind the line of scrimmage and weaved his way through the blocks of Westbrook-Ikhine and tight end Pharoah Brown for a gain of at least 25 yards. The conclusion of the play is a mystery in a practice setting, but chances are that if Waddle slipped the open-field tackle attempt by safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, then the play would have been a 50-yard touchdown.
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