With less a week until the 2020 NFL Draft begins, there is still so much uncertainty and so many questions surrounding one player in particular: Tua Tagovailoa. After enduring a devastating season ending injury against Mississippi State last season, Tagovailoa went from being the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 draft to becoming the most questioned player in the draft.
Many teams seemed concerned with his healing process and recovery and wonder if he’s truly 100% and ready to go, and some other teams have questioned if he’s injury prone. That has brought up the question if Oregon’s Justin Herbert would be a better fir for teams than Tua Tagovailoa. Some would say yes, but most analysts still seem to believe that Tua is a better prospect than Justin Herbert.
On Saturday, ESPN’s Booger McFarland defended Tagovailoa saying this:
“Tua’s a young guy. He’s going to get hurt. It’s part of the game. Look at all the quarterbacks in the National Football League. They’ve been hurt. They’re gonna get hurt. It’s just about how you recover and can you prevent some of those injuries. And for people to say ‘I’m going to take Justin Herbert over Tua Tagovailoa,’ the gap between those two, to me, is astronomical. It’s like an ocean. Tua is much better at all the things it takes to play the quarterback position.
And I get it. Herbert has the ideal size, he’s big, he’s mobile. But when you talk about being able to lead a team and do what the quarterback requires to be done for your football team – throw it accurately, make good decisions, take care of the football, the ability to anticipate throws – Tua Tagovailoa does that better than almost anyone except Joe Burrow in this draft. And if you’re taking Herbert before him, you’re making a huge mistake.”
But he’s not the only one who feels this way. NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah also sees a gap between Tagovailoa and Herbert.
“With Tua and Herbert, I think there is a gap between them,” Jeremiah said on a conference call with media this week. “I think Tua is a more instinctive natural player. He’s got better instincts. He’s just got a better feel. I think he’s got better touch and accuracy. He can layer the ball a little bit better. I think he’s more urgent and sudden in terms of working through progressions. I think obviously Herbert is bigger and stronger. Herbert in my opinion is actually a better athlete. I don’t think people understand that as much, but he’s a really good athlete. And he’s obviously durable, or has been durable recently. I just think when something doesn’t go as expected, I think Tua has got a little bit more of a playmaker gene than Herbert does,”
Time will tell what teams are willing to give Tagovailoa a chance to prove he’s truly 100%, but there’s no doubt that Tua is ready to prove he’s good to go and ready to play.
For the season, Tagovailoa threw for 2,840 yards, 33 touchdowns and 3 interceptions.
In his career at Alabama, Tagovailoa racked up 7,442 yards passing, 87 TDs and 11 INTs.
The NFL draft will take place from April 23-25.
Roll Tide Wire will keep you up to date on the very latest.
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