The Facts: Tagovailoa showed flashes of playmaking ability but struggled mightily down the stretch of his rookie season, getting benched twice as the Miami Dolphins came up just shy of the postseason. With the Dolphins' brass standing behind Tagovailoa, the Alabama product has the reins in Miami moving forward. The key in Year 2 is growth. Joining NFL Network on Thursday, Tua was asked if he's the franchise QB for which Miami has been searching for years. "I would say yes," he responded. "What I can do is just control what I can control. My focus is being the best person that I can be. Working hard. Making this Year 1 to Year 2 jump in the NFL."

Diehards Line:Tua got off to a solid start in his rookie campaign and displayed his high upside in a Week 9 win at Arizona in just his second start. Unfortunately, the more he played, the more the rookie struggles took hold. Tua was benched twice late in games in favor of Ryan Fitzpatrick. The difference between the offense when the veteran was in the game was stark. Tagovailoa believes getting a full offseason to focus on his craft instead of rehabbing will be critical to that Year 2 improvement. "First off, this will be my first offseason," he said, noting last year he was rehabbing from a hip injury. "I think having an offseason where I can now try to focus on other things aside from the rehab side of things, I can focus more on film work, I can focus more on my footwork, my pocket presence, things like that." Tua noted that the main thing he's focusing on this offseason is his pre-snap acumen. It's a wise choice. He owns talent; that much is unquestioned. To take that Year 2 leap, the mental aspect must catch up quickly, or the Dolphins will be right back where they started in their search for a franchise QB.