At 3-3, the Miami Dolphins are in thick of the AFC East race and hardly punting on 2020. But as the embark on their Week 7 bye, they have announced Tua Tagovailoa will be the starting quarterback in Week 8. Ryan Fitzpatrick will move to the bench.
Tagovailoa made his NFL debut in Week 6 against the New York Jets, completing both of his pass attempts. Now he’ll start, in Week 8 and probably the rest of the season barring injury.
Fitzpatrick has been playing well, with 1,670 total yards and 12 total touchdowns (10 passing) with a 70.1 percent completion rate. Through Week 6, he’s QB8 in fantasy.
Is Tua Tagovailoa A Must-Add Now?
Fitzpatrick has been a top-10 fantasy quarterback thus far, and he has driven others Dolphins as fantasy assets. Wide receiver DeVante Parker (WR26), running back Myles Gaskin (RB16 in full PPR) and tight end Mike Gesicki (TE11 in full PPR, even with a doughnut in Week 6) have been good fantasy options. Backup tight end Adam Shaheen has a touchdown in back-to-back games.
Fitzpatrick has history with Dolphins offensive coordinator Chan Gailey. Gailey’s offense looks like a good fit for Tagovailoa, as he was accurate (69.3 percent completion rate) and proficient (10.9 yards per attempt, 87 TD, 11 INT) in college at Alabama. Tua should not hurt his teammates’ fantasy outlooks.
The hip injury that ended Tagovailoa’s final college season, and clouded his draft evaluation, appears to be behind him. He is mobile, with nine rushing touchdowns in college. But he doesn’t profile as a running quarterback like Lamar Jackson or Kyler Murray.
Fantasy Outlook
Tagovailoa’s first start will come against the Los Angeles Rams, who are in the top half of the league in fantasy points allowed to quarterbacks. Week 9 brings another tough matchup, as the Arizona Cardinals are in the top-10 against quarterbacks.
From Week 10-Week 14, the Los Angeles Chargers, Denver Broncos, the Jets, Cincinnati Bengals and Kansas City Chiefs are on the schedule for the Dolphins. The Chargers and Broncos are in the bottom-10 against quarterbacks entering Week 7. The Jets and Bengals matchups are better than they look. The Chiefs game looks sure to be a pass-heavy game script for Miami.
In two-quarterback/super-flex leagues, Tagovailoa is worth a look for fantasy managers who have roster space to stash him this week. In leagues where you can only start one quarterback, it’s wait and see him in action before adding him (outside of very deep leagues).
Tagovailoa Yahoo! Ownership: 7%
Tagovailoa ESPN Ownership: 5.9%
