The shine has worn off of Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa over the course of the past six months. The pre-draft process can be an unkind, unforgiving one — and Tagovailoa’s case study is no exception. Rewind to last October and Tagovailoa was the presumed number one overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, a star at the college level with national fan appeal. And then came the loss to Joe Burrow’s LSU Tigers in November. And then came the dislocated hip injury that ended his season.
The months that have followed have been filled with uncertainty but also with optimism. Every turn along the way, the quarterback’s camp has been quick to sing the praises of his medical prognosis and, to Tua’s credit, he’s worked his tail off to get himself into a position to enter the draft as healthy as possible. There have been videos of throwing sessions, reports confirming his health and statements that Tua could play tomorrow if there were a game.
But it doesn’t sound like the NFL is buying in nearly as much as the hoards of Dolphins fans who want Miami to draft him are.
Because former NFL general manager Michael Lombardi dropped a bomb on his latest ‘GM Shuffle’ podcast regarding Tagovailoa, indicating that all the positive reviews from Tagovailoa’s camp don’t mirror how the NFL’s decision makers feel.
“Two teams I’ve talked to have flunked him,” said Lombardi.
“They flunked him on not just the hip. It’s the multitude of injuries. The risk far outweighs the reward.”
What’s more? One of the teams Lombardi claims to have spoken with owns a top-10 selection — it could be the Dolphins, but it could also be literally any other team in that slate of picks as well. Given all the smoke surrounding the Dolphins and either attempting to trade up for Joe Burrow or even drafting Justin Herbert, there’s a real chance the Dolphins are out. The good news is this excruciating wait is only going to last two more weeks — the 2020 NFL Draft opens two weeks from today.
We’ll have all of our answers then.