One big question it seems not enough people have been asking is if Tua Tagovailoa’s injury concerns will cause him not to be selected at the top of the draft. But it’s a legitimate question, especially in light of the draft process not allowing teams to do complete medical examinations on prospects.
Despite this concern, almost every mock draft out there has Tagovailoa off the board no later than 6th overall.
NBC’s Peter King bucked the consensus with his mock draft Monday. Not only does Tagovailoa not go in the top six — the Dolphins trade up to third overall to select Oregon QB Justin Herbert at and the Chargers opt for offensive tackle Andrew Thomas — but when the Raiders are on the clock at 12 overall, Tua is still there.
This, of course, presents a dilemma for the Raiders, but with all the wide receivers still on the board, King has them going with Oklahoma’s CeeDee Lamb instead. He explains his thinking.
Maybe the toughest call I had to make Sunday evening, having the Raiders bypass Tua Tagovailoa for Lamb. I did it because I keep hearing both Mike Mayock and Jon Gruden are intrigued with new backup Marcus Mariota; adding Tagovailoa might be the best thing for 2023, but it’s not so great for 2020. But they could do it. As for Lamb: Mayock loves him, thinks he’s the most complete receiver in the draft, and even though I think Gruden likely would prefer the take-the-top-off speed of Henry Ruggs, he’s happy to have a true number one receiver who can win consistently against NFL-caliber corners.
From there, he has the Patriots trading up with the 49ers to take Tagovailoa with the 13th overall pick.
Also interesting is what King says about Mayock and Gruden being ‘intrigued’ by Marcus Mariota. Keep in mind that Mayock had Mariota as his top quarterback in 2015, ahead of eventual number one overall pick, Jameis Winston.
King has the Raiders going with LSU CB Kristian Fulton at 19 overall, which means along with the CeeDee Lamb pick at 12, the Raiders first two picks match those I have in my 7-round mock. Although, I have the Raiders trading down to the bottom of the first round to pick up a second-round pick.
I understand King’s logic here. The question I would have for him is, should the Raiders be in line to take Oklahoma’s Jalen Hurts in the second round (if they can get back into that round) or in the third, would he still see them passing on the position?
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