Former Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s projected position in the 2020 NFL Draft has had its ups and downs, much like his health throughout his collegiate career.
After being a Heisman finalist in 2018, he was seen as the guaranteed No. 1 overall pick – NFL fans were so confident the term ‘Tank for Tua’ was commonplace for teams struggling in the 2019 season.
Injuries he sustained throughout the 2019 college football regular season, paired with the 2019 Heisman winner, Joe Burrow, caused Tagovailoa’s name to slip deeper into the top-ten.
The native Hawaiian’s lowest point was a mid-first round projection after his hip surgery in October.
Now, as we get closer to the draft and more positive information surrounding Tagovailoa’s health surfaces, his draft stock has come full circle as he was predicted to be selected No. 2 overall to the Washington Redskins in the most recent CBS Sports mock draft.
LSU’s Burrow assumed the role of No. 1 overall months ago, it seems that the Bengals have found their successor to Andy Dalton in the 2019 Heisman-winning quarterback.
With Burrow off the board, Tagovailoa is the next best quarterback according to Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller.
There has been a lot of speculation about where the Alabama product will end up. Seeing that this is a draft in which plenty of teams need a fresh face in at quarterback, it makes sense that there’s been a lot of ruckus.
The Miami Dolphins, picking at No. 5, seemed to be the winners of the ‘Tank for Tua’ sweepstakes. However, that no longer seems like the case.
Aside from the fact that the team had a ‘weird’ meeting with the quarterback, other teams have now shown strong interest in him.
Other conspiracies include him being drafted at No. 3 overall, a pick currently held by the Detroit Lions.
Detroit had been reportedly shopping the early first-round pick to teams like the Chargers, Dolphins and Raiders in order for them to secure the selection of Tagovailoa.
That theory has not yet been completely busted, but there’s a chance the Lions keep the pick and decide to take Tagovailoa in order to start anew if long-time quarterback Matthew Stafford leaves the team.
The newest belief is that Tagovailoa has limbed his way back to the top, or near it, as Washington could select him at No. 2 overall.
This would be an interesting selection as the franchise drafted Ohio State’s 2018 Heisman-finalist quarterback, Dwayne Haskins, with the No. 15 pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.
While it may be interesting, seeing as they just drafted who many thought would be the future of the team, it would not be out of the ordinary.
All eyes were on the Arizona Cardinals in the 2019 draft as they took Oklahoma’s Heiman winner Kyler Murray with the No. 1 overall pick just one year after drafted UCLA’s Josh Rosen at No. 10.
The Cardinals were not sold on Rosen and decided to trade him to the Miami Dolphins for a second-round draft pick.
ESPN’s Mel Kiper claimed Washington ought to do something similar with Haskins and Tagovailoa. However, instead of trading the Ohio State product, just have him compete for the starting position with the 2018 College Football Playoff national champion.
"If the medical staff clears him … you take Tua at No. 2. There's no doubt about that."@MelKiperESPN thinks the Redskins should draft Tua over Chase Young đź‘€ pic.twitter.com/dxhFmaBBmx
— First Take (@FirstTake) February 27, 2020
Haskins wasn’t seen as a viable option for the team in 2019 as a rookie, and when he entered the game he was not the most productive.
In his rookie season Haskins completed 119 passes off of 203 attempts for 1,365 yards and seven touchdowns while also throwing for seven interceptions.
Not even two months into the college football offseason and there have been a lot of different story lines surrounding Tagovailoa’s future, Roll Tide Wire will keep you updated on his journey into the 2020 NFL Draft.
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