Oregon Football: Could Justin Herbert be the second QB taken?

With some uncertainty surrounding Tua Tagovailoa, could Oregon football’s Justin Herbert surprise people on draft night be the second quarterback chosen?

There have been rumblings in recent weeks and ever since the NFL Combine that Justin Herbert might be the preferred quarterback candidate for the Miami Dolphins, who have the fifth pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. It’s no secret that LSU’s Joe Burrow will be the first quarterback and player off the board, but who will be the next gunslinger taken is a bit of a mystery.

At the beginning of the season, it seemed like a foregone conclusion that Tua Tagovailoa would probably be the first quarterback and player off the board after the historic 2018 season that he had. Then his injury occurred in late November and his draft stock understandably took a bit of a hit. Tua is also very unlucky due to novel coronavirus because of all pre-draft visits and workouts being cancelled.

Assuming that there are no trades before pick No. 5, that’s where the next quarterback could be chosen.

The Dolphins pick at No. 5 and the Chargers have pick No. 6 and after getting rid of Phillip Rivers, they are in the market for a quarterback as well.

One of my hot takes for this draft is that I think Herbert is the second-best quarterback in the draft and I’d take him over Tua.

Let’s look at his strengths and weaknesses ahead of next April’s draft.

Strengths

Herbert’s biggest strength is undeniably his arm talent. I was at the NFL combine to watch the workouts and Herbert was spectacular in his deep ball throws and was able to hit every guy in stride. I know that those workouts are not the best simulation of game action, but he was wowing people with every throw and that is one of the big components to succeed at the next level.

The Oregon star checked in at the combine at 6-foot-6 and 236 pounds and for a guy that size, he displayed some athleticism. He was clocked at 4.66 seconds in the 40 yard dash and also had 35-inch vertical leap.

Herbert has the arm strength and the athleticism that all teams would covet at the quarterback position and that is what makes him such a good prospect.

Weaknesses

The biggest weakness for Herbert is his consistency and his performance against good teams. He did have some impressive stats last season, throwing for nearly 3,500 yards with 32 touchdowns and only six interceptions, leading Oregon to a Pac-12 title and a thrilling Rose Bowl win over Wisconsin.

Herbert also can struggle with his accuracy on short and intermediate throws and despite those very good testing numbers at the combine, he rarely flashed his running ability at Oregon, rushing for only 50 yards last season.

Many are wondering if Herbert may be like Buffalo’s Josh Allen in the fact that he has all of the physical tools, but he may just be a workout warrior and will struggle with accuracy and mechanics at the next level.

Draft Expectation

There’s no doubt that Herbert will be a first-round pick, but where is the question. Despite all of the rumors and smoke, I believe that the Dolphins will wind up taking Tua because I think he’s the guy that they have had their eye on the entire time, dating back to the beginning of the season. I think Herbert will be going No. 6 overall to the Los Angeles Chargers and will be competing with veteran quarterback Tyrod Taylor for the starting job.

Projection: Top 10 pick