2020 NFL Draft: Who is impacted by Tua Tagovailoa’s decision?
Who is impacted by Tua Tagovailoa’s decision to enter the 2020 NFL Draft? Tagovailoa joins a very fun class of players heading to the NFL.
Tua Tagovailoa has made the decision to enter his name into the growing, talented pool of prospects in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Not long ago, the 2020 NFL Draft was known as the “Tank for Tua” draft but a devastating hip injury combined with Joe Burrow’s insane season at LSU this past year has pushed Tua to likely the third overall pick or lower.
So who does this decision impact, besides the obvious?
Alabama
Alabama will obviously have to deal with a change at the quarterback position, and it’s possible the group of receivers Tua has been growing with — Jerry Jeudy, Henry Ruggs III, and DeVonta Smith — will all follow suit and head to the NFL. As a matter of fact, Jeudy has already put his name in as well.
Let’s take a look at some other players and teams affected by Tagovailoa’s decision to come out a year early.
The Alabama Receivers
We know Jerry Jeudy is in, but what about Henry Ruggs and DeVonta Smith?
Do those guys need to go back and prove anything next year? In terms of their NFL prospects, I really don’t think so.
Now that Tua is gone, I think the receivers he had over the last three seasons should leave with him.
The Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions have the third overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. The first two picks at this point are expected to be LSU quarterback Joe Burrow and Ohio State defensive end Chase Young. If that’s the case, the 2020 NFL Draft really starts with the Detroit Lions at pick number three overall.
The Lions could stay put and just not take Tagovailoa. They could take him themselves and figure out what to do with Matt Stafford down the road. Or, the Lions could trade that third overall pick to the highest bidder. My latest mock draft had the Las Vegas Raiders trading up to the fourth overall pick for Tagovailoa, but maybe they or some other team would jump up even higher to get him.
This decision may have made the Lions’ third-overall pick the most attractive trade piece in the draft.
QB Needy Teams
The 2020 NFL Draft class is not necessarily ‘loaded’ at quarterback, but it’s a good class with a few guys who could be franchise cornerstone pieces.
Joe Burrow is an obvious one, but behind him, there are a number of guys with uncertainty at this point. Now, of course every player in the NFL Draft carries uncertainty, even guys like Burrow and Tagovailoa, but Tua’s inclusion in the 2020 class gives it both star power and depth at the top.
It makes an already solid class of possible first-round picks — Burrow, Tagovailoa, Justin Herbert, Jacob Eason, Jordan Love, and maybe Jake Fromm or Jalen Hurts — that much deeper for teams considering drafting a QB high.
Non-QB Needy Teams
Not only does Tua’s decision to leave Alabama and enter the draft impact teams in the market for quarterbacks, but it also impacts teams not in need of them as well.
Anytime a great player at the quarterback position enters the NFL Draft, it pushes some top non-QB prospects down the board further than they would otherwise go without the presence of that quarterback prospect.
Teams not in the market for first-round quarterbacks probably love when there’s a bidding war for signal-callers at the top of the draft because it pushes the top non-QB prospects down the board.
The Other QBs
Tua Tagovailoa’s talent is good enough to get him drafted third overall despite the fact that he’s dealt with a myriad of frustrating injuries in his time at Alabama.
Had he opted to go back to school, players like Justin Herbert might have been elevated on teams’ boards substantially, or maybe teams would have talked themselves into Jordan Love or another player who is further behind in their development compared to Tagovailoa.
dark. Next. 2020 mock draft: Raiders make big trade up
Some quarterbacks like Jake Fromm may decide to simply sit this draft out with the depth at the quarterback position. Other players who are already in may actually wind up going to better teams/situations because they won’t be over-drafted.