Why Drafting Tua Tagovailoa Would Be a Win-Win for the Raiders

Getty Alabama QB Tua Tagovailoa.

Whether your a Derek Carr fan or not, if he continues to struggle through the last quarter of the season, rumors about him not being the Oakland Raiders‘ quarterback in 2020 are going to be rampant. While Carr has proven to be a really good quarterback at times, he has yet to show the level of consistency that would put him among the elite. The Raiders shouldn’t give up on Carr just yet, but there is a quarterback in the 2020 NFL Draft that presents an interesting option for the team

Before he suffered a nasty hip injury, Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa was expected to be the top quarterback taken in the draft. He could still be a top-10 pick in the draft, but his injury will certainly scare off certain teams. The Raiders figure to have two picks in the back half of the draft. If Tua falls to the 15 to 20 range, Jon Gruden and Mike Mayock may need to consider adding him.

Drafting Tua Would Be Win-Win for Raiders

There’s no position more valuable in the NFL than quarterback and adding Tua would mean the Raiders have two quarterbacks that other teams may want. For all his faults, Carr is still a top-20 quarterback in NFL. If the team gives him a true number one wide receiver in 2020 and he has an amazing season then they know he’s the franchise quarterback. However, if he does get receiving help and still struggles, then the Raiders would have insurance with Tua.

It also would put Tua in a good position because he wouldn’t need to rush into things. He’ll have time to develop and get healthy. Plus, if the Raiders add him and Carr plays great, then the team has two very valuable assets. The worst-case scenario is that Carr struggles and the team just cuts him. At least, in that case, they’ll have Tua to replace him. In Pro Football Focus‘ mock draft, they have the Alabama quarterback falling all the way to 27. The Raiders will definitely have at least one draft pick before that. If Mayock has the chance to get a number one overall talent at pick 16, taking Tua would be worth the risk.

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Will Tua Enter the 2020 Draft?

None of the above information matters if Tua doesn’t enter the NFL draft. The fact that his draft stock could drop might deter him from declaring for the draft and staying in college for one more year. He recently spoke about his current thought process.

“I think that’d be tough to pass up,” he said entering the draft, via ESPN. “But there’s a lot more to it than that in some aspects.”

It’s likely that the quarterback will really take his time making up his mind.

“This isn’t something that I can rush,” he said of his decision to enter the NFL or stay at Alabama. “If I want to play to my full potential, I know I can’t just come back and play on it as if it were my ankle. I think a lot that has to go into my decision-making, too, as to whether I stay or leave.”

Even with his current injury, Tua will almost certainly get taken in the first round if he declares this year. If he goes back to Alabama and clearly struggles with the injury, it will kill his draft potential. Though, if he looks like his old self, he’ll be back in line to be the number one overall pick.

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