Former Miami Dolphins offensive tackle Terron Armstead is starting the next chapter of his life, making consistent media appearances and creating his YouTube channel. However, his most recent Tua Tagovailoa comparison is what drew headlines on Tuesday.
During an appearance on ESPN’s Unsportsmanlike radio, Armstead, who retired this offseason, spoke glowingly of his former quarterback.
"I wholeheartedly believe in Tua,” Armstead said. “I've seen him snap into a mode that looked familiar to me, from Drew Brees. That’s why I have no problem making the comparison. The consistency of that, him snapping into that assassin mode, sniper mode.
That's that championship DNA. That we want to see more consistently. We believe he can do it. I think the Dolphins’ season comes down to keeping Tua upright and whether we can keep Bradley Chubb and Jaelan Phillips healthy."
Brees has been a popular comparison for Tua going back to his days at Alabama, but it definitely carries a little more weight when coming from someone like Armstead, who played with both.
The Brees Comp Caveat
That said, comparing Tua to one of the best quarterbacks of all time in Brees comes with several caveats. Even Armstead had one, noting Tua needed to show more consistency to push the Dolphins where they want to go.
From a base level, Tua and Brees do have similar traits. Both are undersized passers who rely on accuracy, anticipation, and the ability to get the ball out quickly to pick defenses apart.
Say what you want about Tua, but his ability to throw the ball through a keyhole in the middle of the field at his size does invoke some of the throws Brees made during his New Orleans Saints tenure.
However, where Brees separated himself was with his ability to manage the offense pre- and post-snap. Brees’ ability to dissect what a defense was doing and how to beat it was really only matched by Tom Brady and Peyton Manning during his era.
Tua has grown through the years when it comes to reading defenses, but he’s still nowhere near Brees’ level.
Obviously, Tua is also lacking in the career accomplishments category. Right now, Tua’s best accomplishments are leading the league in passer rating in 2022, leading the league in passing yards in 2023, and leading the league in completion percentage last season.
Brees retired with a Super Bowl victory while finishing second all-time in passing touchdowns, and he led the league in completion percentage 13 times. And that’s an abbreviated list of his accomplishments.
While all of this needs to be mentioned, the comparison isn’t really about career accomplishments. It’s about play style, and Tua will likely have to develop Brees’ mental game (and stay healthy) to take the next step.
Simply put, it's best not to take this comparison too literally. The way Tua wins is reminiscent of Brees, but he has a long way to go before their careers are even in the same ballpark.
Armstead’s Other Media Ventures
Besides hyping up Tua, Armstead launched his YouTube channel on Tuesday with a small behind-the-scenes look at the weeks leading up to his final home game with the Dolphins.
Most of the video highlights a lot of Armstead’s charity work around the holidays and a team dinner he hosted that featured numerous Dolphins players.
What fans will probably find most interesting is that the video features Armstead’s replacement at left tackle, Patrick Paul, talking about Armstead’s impact on his development.
“You’ve taught me a lot about the game,” Paul said. “You’ve taught me how to manage being a teammate. How to manage being a rookie, how to treat your teammates. Great father. Great role model. Great mentor.”
Paul will be under quite a bit of pressure trying to replace Armstead this season, but at the least, it seems like Armstead’s mentorship has given Paul a lot of confidence.
