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The Miami Dolphins made a late surge last week to secure a number of top-30 visitations for 2020 NFL Draft prospects before the NFL shut down player travel as a response to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak. The team was able to sneak in potential 1st-round selections QB Jordan Love and RB JK Dobbins, but we now know that there was at least one missed connection that the Dolphins did not secure.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport is reporting that the Dolphins moved late last week to secure a visit with Alabama quarterback and potential top selection Tua Tagovailoa.
In pre-draft news: Last week, when the #Dolphins brought in players before the league closed facilities, source said their first call was to #Bama QB Tua Tagovailoa to try to bring him in. The logistics didn’t work out for a visit, but that was their goal. MIA picks No. 5.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 19, 2020
The missed connection is one that threatens to come back to bite both parties — Miami is currently scheduled to pick 5th in the 2020 NFL Draft, but if Tagovailoa is unable to ease concerns surrounding his potential full recovery from the dislocated hip he suffered at the end of the 2019 college football season, will teams be willing to jump on the risk of drafting him early in this year’s draft?
These are unusual times and the Dolphins’ quarterback search will likely culminate in April’s NFL Draft. Failing to meet with Tagovailoa may end up to be nothing, but then again it may end up being the difference in the Dolphins electing to go in a different direction due to unanswered questions about his hip.
It’s a new, fascinating subplot amid all of the unknown across the country as travel and public gatherings continue to be shut down for public health measures. The NFL may not have a chance to meet with Tua once again before the draft, in which case the team will have to bank on their NFL Combine assessment and the team’s believe in his film resume that he can be the quarterback of the future for the Dolphins. The good news? The NFL has committed to holding the 2020 Draft firm to its original dates — the event will be amended but will still take place none the less; so we’ll have our answer in about 6 weeks.