2020 NFL Draft: How far does Tua Tagovailoa fall in first-round mock draft?

And the “fall” ends here. I think the hype and the potential will still be enough for a team to take a chance on Tua Tagovailoa early in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft. I think that team will be the Miami Dolphins.

The Dolphins have the assets to build a solid foundation around Tua to promote his development in the league. They may even add a teammate or two of Tua’s at Alabama. We’ll get a little more into that in a bit, but I think Tua doesn’t fall as far as people may think.

Although I’m not super high on him as a quarterback prospect at this point, I think teams around the league will be. And after initial thoughts of his hip injury being career-threatening, word is that Tua should fully recover and be ready for next season.

When healthy, Tua has been one of the best quarterbacks in college football. There isn’t much he can’t do. The lefty can zip the ball into tight windows and throws a beautiful deep ball with great touch. He is also incredibly effective as a runner as well.

Miami seems to be an optimal landing spot for Tua, especially at this point. If there are any complications with his injury or decide to play it safe and redshirt him a year, they could go another year with Josh Rosen and/or Ryan Fitzpatrick and likely put themselves in a position to land some more top players in the 2021 NFL Draft. With three first-rounders this year, they should be able to surround Tua with the weapons and protection necessary to put him in a position to succeed.

If one of Miami’s other first-round picks gets a little higher and they feel that Tua will fall, I’m sure they would love to grab another top talent with their top-three selection in the 2020 NFL Draft and have Tua fall to them later. But in this league with the quarterback position being so important, I think the Dolphins have to secure their guy. If Tua is their guy, I don’t anticipate him falling too far come April and the 2020 NFL Draft.