Kevin Stefanski Raves About Tua Tagovailoa's ‘God-Given Ability' During OTAs
From the moment they signed former Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to a one-year deal this offseason, the Atlanta Falcons made clear this would be a legitimate QB competition with Michael Penix Jr., their former No. 8 overall pick.
Penix is still recovering from the ACL tear he suffered late in the 2025 season, but Atlanta invested significant draft capital in him, and he flashed some promise as a starter before going down. One of his best outings came in Week 4 against Washington, when he threw for 313 yards and two touchdowns while completing 20 of 26 passes in a 34-27 win.
With Tagovailoa adjusting to a new offensive system and Penix rehabbing yet another major knee injury, head coach Kevin Stefanski has repeatedly emphasized that quarterback reps would be split "very intentionally" during OTAs.
But during Wednesday’s session, Stefanski went out of his way to highlight Tagovailoa.
Asked about quarterback accuracy, the Falcons coach called it "the most important trait" at the position before singling out the veteran passer.
"Some guys get better at it with tweaks to how they throw the ball, tweaks to their lower body, those types of things. And all of our quarterbacks have this. To be able to let the ball go, and it’s going to where you want it to go," Stefanski said. "I think Tua, just in his career, as you’ve seen, has that innate God-given ability."
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Tua came into the league in 2020 already known as an accurate pocket passer.
He put together a near-perfect performance against Oklahoma in the 2018 Orange Bowl, finishing 24 of 27 for 318 yards, four touchdowns, and no interceptions to help Alabama reach its fourth straight CFP National Championship.
He finished college with a 69.4% completion rate, capped by a 2019 season where he went 71.4% through the air for 2,840 yards, 33 touchdowns, and just three picks in nine games.
That accuracy followed him to the NFL.
He led the league in passing yards in 2023 with 4,624, added 29 touchdowns, and completed 69.3% of his passes.
The following year, he topped the league with a 72.9% completion rate.
He also posted a league-best 105.5 passer rating in 2022 and sits at 68% for his career across 78 games.
The issue is that he’s also thrown 36 interceptions over the last three seasons, missed multiple games in almost every year he’s played, and Miami has missed back-to-back playoffs with him under center.
That’s ultimately why the Dolphins moved on, and Atlanta quickly emerged as arguably the best landing spot he could have asked for.
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Stefanski, a former quarterbacks coach with the Minnesota Vikings before taking the head coaching job in Cleveland, built a reputation for getting the most out of his passers.
He notably coached Brett Favre and Christian Ponder during his early years in Minnesota, before helping Case Keenum deliver a career year in 2017, going for 3,547 yards, 22 TDs, and just seven INTs en route to an 11-3 record and playoff berth.
In Cleveland, he saw success with everyone from Baker Mayfield and Deshaun Watson to Joe Flacco and Jacoby Brissett.
He worked with a range of quarterback styles in both Minnesota and Cleveland and consistently built offenses around timing, play-action, and efficiency, concepts that made Tagovailoa dangerous in Miami.
Stefanski’s OTA praise doesn’t crown Tua the starter. But it sends a pretty clear signal about where things stand right now.
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This story was originally published May 27, 2026 at 3:03 PM.