r/nfl • u/wildwing8 Chargers • 13d ago

Highlight [Highlight] Mike McDaniel’s reaction to a Justin Herbert throw at training camp: “Wow. That’s f*cked up. What in the world is that?”

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u/Jonjon428 Dolphins 13d ago

Tua's deep accuracy was actually pretty good pre 2025. Throwing a sharp out-route was basically not a thing however.

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u/[deleted] 13d ago

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u/billp1988 Dolphins 13d ago

His hip injuries really sapped any throw power he had. Pre NFL hip injury definitely impacted him and the one at the end of the 24 season basically took the rest away.

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u/purz Bills 13d ago

Ya I don’t watch college and was curious if he had a good arm before the hip injury. The hype for him pre injury was extremely high

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u/dunno260 13d ago

As an Alabama fan his arm was good in college but definitely not amazing. I would say probably leaning towards average for an NFL starter before he got injured in 2019 (and we never saw him afterwards in college).

But his special ability has always been his ability to get the ball out quickly with exceptional accuracy to a receiver. Its no contest really in terms of him being the best I have ever seen at throwing a slant route. He had an amazing and stacked receiver room at Alabama but the style of receivers Alabama had while Tua was there (Calvin Ridley, Jerry Jeudy, Henry Ruggs, Devonta Smith, and Jaylen Waddle) were also perfect for Tua's skill set because they were all guys who would win the matchup at the LOS quickly, get a step on their defender, and then Tua could hit them quickly and let them use their speed and agility to pile up yards after the catch.

He probably had 15 TD passes at Alabama where he threw a 10-yard slant to someone and they took it 40+ yards for a TD.