Joel Klatt mocks Michael Penix Jr. to Dolphins, cites Tua Tagovailoa concussions
Joel Klatt has released his first mock draft of the cycle. Six quarterbacks are selected in the first round, with the last one being Washington‘s Michael Penix Jr. at No. 21 overall to the Miami Dolphins. This would indicate Tua Tagovailoa is done playing with the Dolphins and would be a new chapter for the franchise.
Miami has a decision to make this offseason but is trending toward giving Tagovailoa an extension. Klatt believes the move is a “risky” one due to Tagovialoa’s history with concussions. Those were an issue for Klatt during his playing days and thinks they will affect Tagovailoa down the line.
“Giving Tua a huge deal, I think is risky,” Klatt said. “I think it’s risky. He has been injury-prone outside of that but that’s clearly — from first-hand experience, it doesn’t get better. It’s not like a ligament. So, what ends up happening is — less and less of an impact creates more symptoms and a greater degree of those symptoms. So, that makes me nervous.”
Klatt believes Penix brings other things to the table to make him a better fit for Miami. One is a pure salary cap move, not having to give Tagovailoa top dollar to be their quarterback. Penix would be on a rookie deal for the next four to five years, giving the Dolphins room to operate with the roster.
And then from a football perspective, Klatt likes the downfield ability Penix brings to the table compared to Tagovailoa. We saw during Washington’s College Football Playoff run how explosive Penix can be when surrounded by stud wide receivers. Getting the ball vertical is when Miami is at its best and can potentially improve with Penix in there.
“Imagine starting over with a rookie deal at that position,” Klatt said. “Solidifying some of the things that they’ve got, particularly in their skill position, and having a guy that, quite honestly, is a better downfield passer than Tua… If you’re the Dolphins, you got to really think about this.”
The main receiving duo of Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Wadde exist in Miami, with the former being the star of the show. Hill is undoubtedly one of the best players in the NFL and you can argue he changed to franchise’s direction when being traded to Miami.
Even so, Klatt feels as if Tagovailoa did not play into Hill’s strength which is getting underneath a ball for a big play. Having to stop his route and come back to a ball was something Klatt saw too often.
Penix has the opportunity to fix those problems and give the Dolphins a real boost in what has become a crowded AFC.
“Tyreek had a great year,” Klatt said. “How many times did Tyreek have to readjust on an underthrown ball? Maybe that’s a bad example because the guy is so fast but it happens a lot.
“Meanwhile, the best attribute that Michael Penix has is his ability to throw with great leverage and accuracy down the field. Him in that offense, to me, is like — I want to see it. I think it would be amazing.”