Of all the inspected players heading into the 2020 NFL Draft, none has actually been more widespread– or withstanding– than Tua Tagovailoa.
The Alabama quarterback, as soon as thought about a lock for the No. 1 general choice, now deals with extreme examination from media and NFL teams alike on whether he’s worth a high choice, thinking about his well-documented injuryhistory The most noteworthy of those is the one that too soon ended his college profession– a combined dislocated hip and posterior wall fracture– however he likewise suffered a hurt hand (2018) and high-ankle sprains (2018 and ’19).
That’s far from the only method Tagovailoa’s draftability has actually been dissected. Due to the fact that of an all-world cast of receivers, he has actually likewise dealt with criticism on whatever from team interviews to his Wonderlic score to whether he prospered simply.
MORE: Tua Tagovailoa injury timeline: Will he be all set for 2020 season?
Are all these issues genuine, or are teams simply attempting to put a smokescreen around him to frighten possible competitors? Due to the fact that of all those stories, Tagovailoa has actually been predicted anywhere from a top-five choice (disallowing the Bengals and Lions at Nos. 1 and 3, respectively), to being up to the middle of the first round.
There are numerous moving parts to track in regard to Tagovailoa, which is why we at Sporting News are keeping an eye on the latest reports relating to his injury, landing locations and more:
Tua Tagovailoa reports: Injury news, trade tracker ahead of 2020 draft
April 19: Tagovailoa’s Wonderlic score is reported as a 19– most affordable amongst NFL Integrate quarterbacks and one point lower than the average score for the position.
April 18: Draft specialist Mel Kiper Jr., in an interview with Boston sports radio station WEEI, states Patriots might be aggressive in pursuing Tagovailoa if he falls in the draft:
” This person has actually had considerable injuries, so to me, if he begins slipping a bit, moving down, where it occurred with Aaron Rodgers not that long back, and he was predicted to be No. 1 2 weeks prior to that draft and he entered the 20 s, yes, if it did occur, I would believe New England would be aggressive to attempt and increase and get him.”
April 18: Per Bob McGinn of The Athletic, 3 NFL teams have actually taken Tagovailoa totally off their draft boards due to issues about his capability to remain healthy. Per one confidential AFC scout: “He’s a fantastic college gamer however, wow, he is vulnerable. He’s a super kid and I do not want ill will, however there’s 3, 4 or 5 warnings gazing all of us in the face stating, ‘You know what? This guy’ s not going to be all that he’s split up to be.'”
April 16: Former NFL executive Michael Lombardi, on his podcast “GM Shuffle,” safeguards an earlier post stating Tagovailoa has formerly concealed injuries. He likewise declines the concept he is producing a smokescreen for pal Expense Belichick, stating Tagovailoa likely stopped working the organization’s grading system for quarterbacks.
“I know that based on the Patriots’ grading system a 6-foot quarterback would have to be really, really elite over a long period of time for them to draft him,” Lombardi stated on his podcast.
April 15: A source informs the Miami Herald that “no team has done more work on Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert over the past two years than the Dolphins.” Per the Herald, Miami likewise had a video conference with the Oregon quarterback also, providing credence to the report they prefer him over Tagovailoa with the 5th general choice.
April 13: Former Cardinals quarterback Matt Leinart, the No. 10 choice in the 2006 NFL Draft, stated he would draft Tagovailoa regardless of his injury history.
“Yeah, I would (draft Tagovailoa),” Leinart stated. “I don’t think it’s a gamble at all. And I understand the injury concern. Look, we all played the sport of football. Injuries are going to happen. And I would just say this — we have to trust the doctors and medical staff, and it appears that he’s clearing all of the medical hurdles so far this offseason.”
April 13: Redskins safety Landon Collins, who played the very same position at Alabama, informed ESPN’s “First Take” he would choose Washington to stick to in 2015’s No. 15 general choice, Dwayne Haskins, atquarterback The Redskins have the No. 2 general choice in the 2020 draft.
“I love Tua and I love Alabama,” Collins stated (by means of 247 Sports). “We prepared a first round quarterback in 2015. I believe Tua would be a fantastic property to our team however we currently have one. I believe we ought to keep the person we have now.
April 13: Ryan Leaf– the No. 2 choice in the 1998 NFL Draft– states Tagovailoa is not a top-five quarterback possibility, stating he does not believe he “has the ability to transition to the next level and be as successful as let’s say a Joe Burrow or a Justin Herbert.”
April 10: Sporting News’ Vinnie Iyer forecasts the Dolphins to draft Tagovailoa with the 5th general choice, calling him “an accurate, mobile, deep-ball throwing QB with the upside of Russell Wilson.”
April 10: B/R’s Miller reports that the Dolphins’ scouting department chooses Oregon’s Justin Herbert to Tagovailoa with the No. 5 general choice.
April 8: Lombardi, on his podcast “GM Shuffle,” states 2 NFL teams failed Tagovailoa on his physicals. Lombardi added that Tagovailoa suffered concealed or formerly unidentified injuries relating to Tagovailoa’s wrist:
” It’s not simply his hip,” Lombardi stated. “It’s his ankle. It’s his wrist. He broke his wrist the first day of spring ball one year. And then they fixed it. He came back and broke it again. He’s brittle. He is brittle. You can’t deny it.”
(Tagovailoa suffered what Alabama called a thumb injury on his tossing hand on the first day of spring practice prior to the 2018 season, though it doubts whether Lombardi is describing that injury or something else).
April 3: Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller reports that Tagovailoa’s draft stock took a hit amongst numerous NFL teams due to “an all-world cast that saved him when plays broke down.” Miller reports another scout stated Tagovailoa had bad board work and conferences throughout the NFL Integrate conferences.
April 3: Former Jets and Expenses coach Rex Ryan calls Tagovailoa the “biggest gamble in NFL Draft history,” while declaring sources informed him he in fact got 5 operations in college instead of the formerly reported 3:
“I think this is the biggest gamble in the history of the NFL Draft. . Everybody knows about the three operations he’s had. Really? Well I’ve heard he’s had five operations.”
— Rex Ryan on Tua Tagovailoa pic.twitter.com/1tAzDrwdJZ
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) April 3, 2020
April 3: Nick Wright of “First Things First” recommends the Patriots trade “Julian bleeping Edelman” as part of a plan to the Lions to pick Tagovailoa with No. 3 general choice. Edelman– in a since-deleted tweet– reacts with, “Nice hairline bro.”
March 27: A former NFL general manager informs the Sun Guard he would not take Tagovailoa with the 5th choice: “No way, now how.”
March 3: A “highly trusted” NFL source informs ESPN’s Matthew Berry there’s “no chance” Lions choose Tagovailoa with No. 3 general choice.
Feb. 26: Tagovailoa apparently gets “overwhelmingly positive reports” on dislocated hip from teams at the 2020 NFL Integrate, including that “MRIs were as clean as hoped, fracture is healed, there is no loss of blood flow.”
