Alabama QB Tua Tagovailoa
Burrow is the best quarterback in this draft class, hands down. There is a special No. 2 prospect, though. Tagovailoa didn’t win the Heisman during his time at Alabama. However, he did win a National Championship and he put more than enough incredible throws on film to prove that he’s capable of being a true franchise QB in the NFL.
Some folks have suggested Tagovailoa’s arm is even better than Dan Marino’s. That’s going a bit far, but there’s no denying the exceptional arm talent he displayed at Alabama. Before the hip injury, Tua completed 69.3% of his passes, averaged 10.9 yards per attempt and totaled 87 touchdowns to go with a 199.4 passer rating – all better numbers than Burrow’s. They tied with 11 interceptions each. Tagovailoa also showed some wheels, scoring nine rushing touchdowns in college.
Like Cam Newton’s foot, questions about the hip appear to be overblown. Tagovailoa recently went through an unofficial Pro Day throwing session and shared the tape with all 32 teams. His movement looked fluid enough on those reps to not warrant any concern about his health. In any case, if the Panthers are truly worried they can afford to wait and redshirt him behind Teddy Bridgewater for a full season.
To get their hands on Tua, the Panthers will probably need to trade up to the No. 2 or 3 spot at least. If either Detroit or Washington are willing to cut a deal, it’s worth considering.