INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - FEBRUARY 25: Tua Tagovailoa #QB17 of Alabama interviews during the first day ... [+]
When asked to talk about his strengths as a player Tuesday at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis, the humble Tua Tagovailoa admitted he was “uncomfortable” talking about himself.
Still, being probed by reporters had to be much more palatable than what Tagovailoa went through the day before, when he was poked and prodded at an Indianapolis hospital for several hours. According to Tagovailoa, he was “the last person to leave,” arriving at 10 a.m. and not returning to the combine for interviews with teams until “about 7:49 p.m.”
Of course, all of that is because of a fateful third-down play on Nov. 9 when Tagovailoa was chased out of the pocket and dragged down by two Mississippi State defenders. He suffered a dislocated right hip and a fractured posterior wall.
Basically, in that one horrific moment, Tagovailoa was leapfrogged as the consensus No. 1 pick by LSU quarterback Joe Burrow. Tagovailoa said Tuesday he expects to be medically cleared on March 9 and will be a “full go” after that, and will work out for NFL teams on April 9.
All of this means it is very murky as to exactly who will draft Tagovailoa and when he will be selected. So let’s try to break it down as best as possible, with the assumption that the medical reports all come back positive prior to the draft.
If Cincinnati’s posturing Tuesday is just that, posturing, then Burrow makes too much sense for the Bengals not to select him. Next up at No. 2 is Washington. Standout Ohio State defensive end Chase Young would seem to be the logical choice for the Redskins, who already believe they have their quarterback in fellow former Buckeye Dwayne Haskins.
Then comes Detroit at No. 3. Lions general manager Bob Quinn said Tuesday at the combine that when reports recently surfaced that they were interested in trading veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford, he called Stafford and told him, “We’re not trading you, period.”
That makes sense, considering the Lions would take a $21.3 million cap hit, per overthecap.com, if they dealt Stafford. Plus, Quinn and embattled head coach Matt Patricia need to win now, and that isn’t easy to do with a rookie QB. Just ask New York Jets GM Mike Maccagnan and coach Todd Bowles, both of whom were shown the door before Sam Darnold ever took the first snap of his sophomore NFL season.
However, Quinn recently told the team’s website that he would be “open” to trading down to acquire more picks, and New York Giants general manager Dave Gettleman said Tuesday he is “open for business” in trading down from the fourth pick in the first round. Keep in mind that although the Giants believe they have found their QB in Daniel Jones, Gettleman never has traded back in the first round, with New York or Carolina.
Still, all of this means the pressure is on Miami. Not only must the Dolphins make the right decision on Tagovailoa’s physical viability going forward, based on the medical reports, but general manager Chris Grier must be vigilant lest a team leapfrog the Dolphins at No. 5.
It's not a secret in NFL circles that Miami has had its eyes on Tagovailoa for a long time. Consider the fact the Dolphins traded left tackle Laremy Tunsil last summer. (Remember, Tagovailoa throws lefty, thus the right tackle protects his blind side.)
“We feel good where we are right now,” Miami GM Chris Grier said, but added, “we’re wide-open to everything” in terms of trading up or down. When asked about Tagovailoa, head coach Brian Flores also mentioned Burrow, Oregon’s Justin Herbert and Utah State’s Jordan Love as impressive quarterbacks, too.
But Miami still is linked with Tagovailoa until proven otherwise.
“The medical will tell us what it is and we’ll go through our process and get to know” Tagovailoa via an interview, Grier said.
As with any decision on drafting a quarterback in the NFL, there’s not much at stake, except probably the foreseeable future of the franchise.
