2020 NFL mock draft: Tua Tagovailoa to the rescue in Miami

With the NFL season on deck, we take one last preseason crack at the future in this 2020 NFL mock draft. Can Tua Tagovailoa save the Miami Dolphins?

The 2019 college football season is upon us, which means 2020 NFL mock draft season is upon us.

The Miami Dolphins have substantially shaken up the entire first round of next year’s draft with their trade of Laremy Tunsil over to the Houston Texans.

Now, the Dolphins and the Las Vegas Raiders are the only two teams — so far — in 2020 with a pair of first-round picks.

With one full week of college football action now in the books, let’s take a stab at projecting which players could be first round picks, where their current value maybe is, and what teams could be picking high this year.

We’ll use the latest power rankings from NFL.com to keep an unbiased order.

At this point in the year, what’s the point of a mock draft? There are a few major things.

• Get to know next year’s prospects
• Find out how wrong preseason predictions were for your favorite team which will undoubtedly be better than where they were slotted in preseason power rankings
• Early look at 2020 team needs (constantly changing)

Let’s dive in.

Where do we begin with the Miami Dolphins? This team has traded away one of its cornerstone pieces in Laremy Tunsil to load up on assets and build for the future.

If the Dolphins tank properly this season, they should be able to get whatever quarterback they see fit to build around for the future.

In my mind, Tua Tagovailoa is a game-changer and would instantly rejuvenate the Miami fan base. This pick is subject to change if Josh Rosen comes in and lights it up, but he didn’t beat out Ryan Fitzpatrick for the starting job out of training camp.

The Cardinals are all-in on Kliff Kingsbury and Kyler Murray, but if they finish this poorly in 2019, it’s likely they’ll have a new general manager.

If that GM believes in the Kingsbury-Murray pairing (I’m guessing that would be a requirement), the smartest play is to surround Murray with as much talent offensively as possible, starting with building a wall in front of him.

Andrew Thomas comes from a run-first offense at Georgia but he’s athletic, light on his feet, and looks like the quintessential modern-day NFL left tackle.

With all the arm talent, athleticism, and experience NFL teams love from the quarterback position, Justin Herbert should not be discounted as a number one overall pick possibility just yet.

He put Oregon in position to beat Auburn in the season opener before the Tigers got the better of the Ducks defense on the final drive of the game.

Herbert needs some work on decision making, but the skills are there for him to be a top-tier NFL quarterback someday.

The Buccaneers need to rebuild in the trenches again and a star athlete like Chase Young would be a great piece for them.

This pick could just as easily be AJ Epenesa out of Iowa, but Young right now seems to be getting a bit more of the EDGE1 love, so we’ll project it for the time being.

Some have compared the 6-foot-5 Young to Myles Garrett, the former top overall pick of the Cleveland Browns.

If the Redskins are picking this high, Jay Gruden is not going to be in the picture.

The Redskins are currently dealing with a holdout by left tackle Trent Williams, and if they ultimately decide to part ways, that position becomes this team’s top need.

Wirfs is a monster and right now plays right tackle for the Hawkeyes, but he stepped in nicely for Alaric Jackson at left tackle in a pinch and looks like he will be a star in the NFL.

Built like Julius Peppers, Epenesa is a freak off the edge who could wind up being a dominant force in the NFL sooner than later.

As freaky strong as he is freaky quick, Epenesa has the length, power, and quickness to be an every-down defender in the NFL right away, which is ironic because he’s been a sub-package  or part-time player his first two years in Iowa.

The Giants got their offensive foundation piece in Daniel Jones, two building blocks in Dexter Lawrence and Deandre Baker. Epenesa would be the foundation piece for the defense.

One year after drafting TJ Hockenson in round one, the Lions take another offensive weapon to surround Matthew Stafford with the best possible skill talent.

Jeudy is blazing fast, but his speed comes with nuanced route running, strong hands, and the ability to make plays after the catch.

He’s creative with the football and can beat you at every level of the field. Jeudy is a superstar in the making.

After getting an enforcer in Johnathan Abram at the safety position and signing LaMarcus Joyner to float around the defense, Jon Gruden and Mike Mayock complete their safety unit by selecting Grant Delpit, one of the best all-around defensive backs in all of college football.

Delpit would take care of the back end of Oakland’s defense and help them create more turnovers. He had five interceptions and a forced fumble last year.