Getty Tua Tagovailoa could still end up being a first-round draft pick.
Tua Tagovailoa entered the season as one of the top NFL draft prospects in the country, but the Alabama quarterback sustained a serious hip injury causing many to question his stock. Tagovailoa has yet to announce whether he will return to play at Alabama next season or declare for the draft. The Alabama quarterback admitted that it would be hard to pass up a chance to be a top-15 pick if teams are willing to use a high draft selection on him despite the injury.
“I think that’d be tough to pass up,” Tagovailoa told ESPN in December. “But there’s a lot more to it than that in some aspects…This isn’t something that I can rush. 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.”
Many draft analysts still project Tagovailoa to be a top-10 pick despite the hip injury. Heavy has Tagovailoa going to the Dolphins with the No. 5 pick in our latest NFL mock draft.
Tua Tagovailoa’s NFL Draft Projections
The Athletic’s Dane Brugler reported that Tagovailoa’s most likely destinations are the Dolphins or Chargers (who pick No. 5 and No. 6, respectively), assuming the quarterback’s medicals project him to make a full recovery.
If the medicals check out, Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa is expected to be the next passer drafted and the Dolphins at No. 5 or the Chargers at No. 6 are both possible landing spots.
Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller noted that Tagovailoa still projects to be a first-round pick.
There has been nothing new regarding the hip injury Tua Tagovailoa suffered in mid-November, but the buzz from NFL sources is that he’s still expected to be a first-round selection as long as his hip rehab progresses as planned.
The following teams could be looking to select a quarterback early in the NFL draft: Bengals (No. 1), Dolphins (No. 5), Chargers (No. 6), Panthers (No. 7), Jaguars (No. 9) and Broncos (No. 15). Tagovailoa put up solid numbers this season prior to his injury. The Alabama quarterback threw for 2,840 yards, 33 touchdowns and 3 interceptions while completing more than 71 percent of his passes.
Tagovailoa Still Projects to Be the Second Quarterback Selected in the 2020 NFL Draft
Tagovailoa still appears to be the favorite to be the first quarterback selected after LSU’s Joe Burrow, assuming he declares for the draft. Tagovailoa’s draft stock depends on the quarterback not having any setbacks in his recovery.
ESPN’s Todd McShay also had Tagovailoa going to the Dolphins as a top-five pick in his mock draft.
Let’s start off the Dolphins’ draft — which includes three first-rounders and an assortment of picks — with a franchise quarterback. There obviously are some medical concerns, but with Ryan Fitzpatrick still under contract for 2020, Tagovailoa wouldn’t need to be immediately forced onto the field. And when he does get the call, he brings high-end accuracy and excellent anticipation.
