2020 NFL Draft: Mel Kiper keeps Tua Tagovailoa in top three on big board

Despite the tough injury, Tua Tagovailoa is still ranked high by Mel Kiper in his 2020 NFL Draft big board.

Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is going to be the biggest wildcard in the 2020 NFL Draft. Just a couple of weeks ago, Tua was considered the likely top overall pick in the draft. However, a season-ending hip injury has his draft stock completely up in the air.

At this point, it seems unlikely that Tua will be taken ahead of LSU quarterback Joe Burrow in the 2020 NFL Draft. Burrow has been absolutely amazing this season and Tagovailoa is simply too much of an unknown. However, it is certainly possible that Tua is still the second quarterback off of the board. If that is the case, he is still a likely top-five pick, depending on how the draft order shakes out.

Early reports on Tua’s injury have been positive, but make no mistake about it, his health is a major question going forward. Tagovailoa will likely miss the entire 2020 NFL season and his long-term health is unknown. Taking him early in the 2020 NFL Draft is undoubtedly a major risk.

All of that being said, he still has massive upside at the next level. Tagovailoa is an extremely accurate passer who can put the ball wherever he wants. His ability to put the proper touch on his passes is elite and he has more than enough natural arm strength. Tagovailoa is an incredibly gifted quarterback prospect who could lead an NFL team to immediate success. The injury risk is the only real negative in his game.

I found Tagovailoa’s ranking on Mel Kiper’s latest big board extremely interesting. Kiper has Tagovailoa ranked as the third-best prospect in the 2020 NFL draft class, only slipping one spot after the injury. Here is what Kiper said about the ranking of Tua:

"“Tagovailoa, of course, is out for the season after he dislocated his right hip and suffered a posterior wall fracture against Mississippi State. It’s an extremely serious injury for one of college football’s best players, but the early prognosis is that he should be ready to throw again by the spring,” Kiper wrote.“Still, his injury history — he has dealt with ankle and knee injuries the past two seasons — will complicate how teams evaluate him, and they’re going to want to see his medical reports before committing to him. I don’t think this is a career-threatening injury. As a player, Tagovailoa is a top-five talent with elite accuracy and all the physical and mental tools teams look for in a starter. There’s a long time until April’s draft, but I’m not moving him much.”"

Few in the media are more plugged into teams than Mel Kiper. He knows how NFL teams feel about prospects and if they were overly worried about Tua’s injury, I do not think Kiper would still have him ranked this high.

Until we know more about the injury, it is going to be incredibly difficult to rank Tua. However, a guy like Kiper keeping him high is likely good news about how teams feel about him. Only time will tell for sure.