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After Drafting Tua Tagovailoa, Dolphins’ Super Bowl Odds Remain at +8000

Robert Duff

by Robert Duff in NFL Football

Updated Apr 23, 2020 · 8:12 PM PDT

Tua Tagovailoa signaling #1
Will Tua Tagovailoa have an immediate impact on the Miami Dolphins? The oddsmakers are doubtful. Miami's odds to win Super Bowl 55 remain unchanged at +800 after they selected the Alabama quarterback with the fifth overall pick of Thursday's NFL Draft. Photo by: Everipedia (Wikimedia commons).
  • After selecting Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa fifth overall in the 2020 NFL Draft, the Miami Dolphins’ odds to win Super Bowl 55 remain unchanged at +8000
  • Can the Crimson Tide QB have an immediate impact for the Fins, or will his hip injury slow his adaptation to the NFL?
  • Study all the analysis, odds, picks and projections right here in the ensuing story

In Tua Tagovailoa, the Miami Dolphins got their quarterback of the future. According to the oddsmakers, that future isn’t now.

The Dolphins selected Alabama QB Tagovailoa with the fifth overall selection of Thursday’s NFL Draft.

Prior to Tagovailoa’s selection, bookmakers pegged the Dolphins at a betting line of +8000 in the 2021 Super Bowl odds.

Miami Dolphins 2021 Super Bowl Odds

Prop Odds
Prior to Drafting Tagovailoa +8000
After Drafting Tagovailoa +8000

Odds taken Apr. 23

After Miami called Tua’s name, the odds of the Dolphins winning Super Bowl 55 remained at +8000.

Dolphins Ignore Doubters

A worrisome approach about Tagovailoa’s future seemed to follow him everywhere in the lead up to the draft. All the negative speculation evidently had no impact on the thought process of the Dolphins brass.

The Crimson Tide southpaw was the second QB off the board after the Cincinnati Bengals tabbed LSU’s Joe Burrow first overall. Burrow (2020) and Tagolvailoa (2018) were at the helm of two of the last three NCAA national championship clubs.

The winning effect that Tua’s shown throughout his career apparently swayed the Dolphins. They ignored fears about the long-range impact of the season-ending dislocated hip that Tagovailoa suffered in a game last year against Mississippi State.

They also didn’t care a lick about his relatively low score of 19 on the Wonderlic test at the NFL Combine.

All About the Five

The selection of Tagovailoa marked the first time Miami ever selected at #5 in the draft. However, he was the fifth QB the Dolphins have selected in the first round.

Two of the previous four were Hall of Famers – Bob Griese, the only QB to lead Miami to  Super Bowl triumphs, and the legendary Dan Marino.

Marino led the Dolphins to the playoffs as a rookie in 1983.

Another Lefty Success Story

There’s been theories put forth that the left-handed throwing QB was going the way of the toe placekicker but Tagovailoa offers hope that they won’t be left out of the future.

Naturally righthanded, Tua learned to throw southpaw from his dad. Just two Super Bowl champions have been helmed by lefty QBs. One of them, though was an Alabama grad.

That was Ken Stabler. The Snake led the Oakland Raiders to victory in the 1977 Super Bowl. The other southpaw winner was Steve Young, who carried the San Francisco 49ers to the title in 1995.

Tua Another Step in Right Direction

For the longest time last season, the Dolphins were getting action as a team with the chance to go 0-16. Instead, after an 0-7 start, they went 5-11.

Miami won three of its last five games and ended the 2019 campaign on a two-game winning streak. The Dolphins defeated two 2019 playoff teams – the NFC East champion Philadelphia Eagles and the AFC East champion New England Patriots.

Miami looked to be turning a corner under first-year head coach Brian Flores. With three picks in the first round of the 2019 draft, the Dolphins figure to keep getting better.

Tagovailoa is a big part of their future but that bright future isn’t going to be immediate. Don’t bet Miami to win this season. With the AFC East in a state of flux, though, look for the Fins to be flipping that switch in the near future.

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