Alabama Football: Tua Tagovailoa should be locked in as top-5 pick

Alabama football’s Tua Tagovailoa is expected to go early in the NFL draft. Is he a lock for one of those top five picks despite his injury?

In 2017, true freshman Tua Tagovailoa made a name for himself at Alabama when he helped lead the Crimson Tide to a comeback, beating the Georgia Bulldogs in the national title game.

Tagovailoa came to Alabama from Hawaii where he was the Hawaii High School Player of the Year in 2016.

Tua played in eight games his freshman year, 15 in his sophomore year and his season was cut short at nine games due to an injury as a junior. He opted to forego his senior year and declare for the 2020 NFL Draft. Here, we examine his football history, strengths, weaknesses and our draft projection for Tua.

The Alabama gunslinger was highly-coveted by head coach Nick Saban and ultimately he and his family decided that playing for Alabama would be in his best interest for his future. It’s widely known how close Tagovailoa is to his father and he was very close to his grandfather also and plays in his honor.

Tagovailoa began his career with the Crimson Tide as the backup quarterback to Jalen Hurts and received plenty of playing time in his freshmen year. Nick Saban often put the second and third-string teams into the game when the team had a significant lead. It was during these opportunities Tagovailoa showcased his talents and gave Alabama coaches confidence in his abilities and he had more time on the field in the second half of his freshman season. He finished his first year posting 49 completions of 77 attempts for 636 yards, 11 touchdowns and two interceptions.

Tua started every game of the 2018 season and recorded 245 completions out of 355 attempts for 3,966 yards, 43 touchdowns and six interceptions for a 199.4 rating on the season.

In 2018, Tagovailoa earned consensus All-American honors, the 2018 Maxwell Award, was named 2018 SEC Offensive Player of the Year and the 2018 Walter Camp Player of the Year Award.

As mentioned above, the 2019 season was cut short due to a high-ankle injury early in the season requiring surgery and another injury in the game against Mississippi State that put an end to his season. He suffered a dislocated hip and fractured posterior wall, in addition, a broken nose and concussion and had surgery to repair the injury two days later.

Tua posted 180 completions of 252 attempts for 2,840 yards, 33 touchdowns and three interceptions in the nine games he participated in. He announced in the spring of 2020 he would declare for the 2020 NFL Draft and not play his senior year with Alabama.

Strengths

Tagovailoa is a dual-threat quarterback with a proven winning history despite injuries along the way. His work ethic, passion and dedication to the game keep him striving to do better and improve upon his mistakes.

During his collegiate career, his touchdown-to-interception ratio was 8-1, he is experienced reading route combinations, and he’s good at making pocket escapes in a clutch moment. In addition, he has the patience to sit and scan the field from the pocket, he throws with repetitive accuracy and he’s confident throwing through tight windows.

Weaknesses

Of course, Tagovailoa’s weaknesses include the two surgeries and season-ending injuries from the 2019 season, but he has worked hard rehabbing his ankle and hip and not only scored fairly well in the NFL combine, but two of his doctors also released a statement attesting to his health and durability.

Tagovalia also needs to work on his poise in and out of the pocket, he needs earlier pocket slides and his anticipatory throws and timing need to improve. He has a few quirks that need to be ironed out, but he’s easy to coach and will strive for perfection, making him a solid pick for whichever team chooses him.

Draft Projection

Tagovailoa was favored to be one of the top picks in the draft in the preseason and before his injuries, however, he still performed well at the combine and has been cleared by multiple doctors. His tenacity and dedication should add to the value he will bring to his new team. In my mock draft, I predicted Tagovailoa would go to the Miami Dolphins with the fifth pick of the draft, and I’m pretty confident in that.

Projection: No. 5 overall to Dolphins