On Monday, Tua Tagovailoa posted several video clips of himself showcasing him arm strength and recovered hip, but according to two different ESPN analysts, the videos won’t impact his stock too much.
ESPN’s Mel Kiper not only dropped Tua Tagovailao from the No. 3 spot to the No. 5 spot in his most recent mock draft, he also explains on a segment with “Get Up,” that although the videos may help teams see him throw, it’s not the same as if they could meet with him in person:
“Well, you gotta like what you see. But the thing is, even if medically gets cleared by the doctors and everything looks good, you still have that durability concern, it’s still there — there’s three lower extremity injuries. So, I think you look at it and say, ‘Okay, redshirting that first year.
Five of the active winningest signal-callers in the NFL, four of those didn’t even play as a rookie. Okay, we know Patrick Mahomes only played that final game, Lamar Jackson played late after Flacco was banged up. So you think about two last MVPs didn’t play much except late for Jackson, and that one game for Mahomes.
I said four of the top five active didn’t play at all. I think you medically redshirt Tua, regardless of how he looked, regardless of what your medical people say, let his body heal, get him ready for 2021. I think that’s the best course of action, if you draft Tua in that top five.”
But Kiper isn’t only person who feels this way.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter also has similar comments. He was a guest on the Dan Patrick Show and had this to say regarding Tagovailoa:
“Look, he’s gonna be able to control the narrative and show teams videos of how well he’s feeling and it looks encouraging, but the bottom line remains, I don’t think it changes anything. Teams, doctors cannot get their hands on him, they cannot put him through a physical examination. We have no idea about the blood flow in that area. We have no idea exactly how he is healing.”
Clearly, there is still a lot of unknowns regarding Tua Tagovailoa, even after the videos.
Most NFL Mock Drafts have him being drafted early in the first round, but will that change, especially with teams getting to see him in action?
It’s not his fault that the pro-day and visits were cancelled due to the coronavirus. He’s doing the best that he can.
He has shown his hard work ethic, even throughout his recovery, and that’s something teams need to take into consideration as well.
For the season, Tagovailoa threw for 2,840 yards, 33 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. In his career at Alabama, Tua racked up 7,442 yards passing, 87 TDs, and 11 INTs.
The 2020 NFL Draft will be held from April 23-25.
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