Mike Lombardi Doesn’t Thinks Tua Tagovailoa Possesses ‘Unique Talent’, Believes Media Is Overhyping Him

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Tua Tagovailoa’s first career NFL start on Sunday against the Rams wasn’t all that memorable for the Hawaiian. He completed just 12-of-22 passes and had one touchdown, but it was also a game in which Miami didn’t have to ask a lot of him as it cruised to a 28-17 victory.

Mike Lombardi, the former exec with the Browns and Patriots apparently saw enough, however, and thinks all the hype surrounding Tua is too much.

While Lombardi did admit that Tagovailoa was “nice”, the media is pushing the hype train far too fast.

“Tua was nice. They’re trying to make him be the second coming of any quarterback,” Lombardi said on VSiN Live. “He throws a 5-yard completion and Scott Hanson on the Red Zone was going absolutely berserk like he just saw the Red Sea parted. I mean seriously, the guy threw a high school play, and he completed it.”

Taking a shot at the hype around Tagovailoa and his abilities is one thing, but Lombardi went on to say that he doesn’t have “unique talent” while putting him behind the likes of Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert.

“That’s not why you draft the guy the [fifth] pick overall. You want to see unique talent, and the way Justin Herbert plays, even in a loss, that’s unique talent. The way Joe Burrow has played in games, as rookies, that’s unique talent.”

Tagovailoa may just have one NFL start to his name, but it’s clear he hasn’t passed the Lombardi test. He could end up being a Hall of Famer, he could also end up being either an above-average or below-average quarterback, only time will tell.

Lombardi’s hot take here is actually cooler than Colin Cowherd’s though, who said Tau simply ‘won’t work in the NFL‘ last week.