2020 NFL Draft scouting report: Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa

Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa announced on Monday that he will forego his senior season and declare for the 2020 NFL Draft. Below is my final scouting report on the Crimson Tide’s former quarterback.

Tua Tagovailoa‘s career has shown so much promise since he came in to win the 2018 National Championship against Georgia. Since then, we’ve seen the pitfall that has been his injuries. Was this the time to leave and declare for the 2020 NFL Draft, or did he make a mistake and should’ve tried for another year to prove he can stay healthy? Check out my full scouting report and find out my take on the storied quarterback from Hawaii.

Name: Tua Tagovailoa
School: Alabama
Position: QB
Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 219 pounds

Career Stats (32 Games): 7442 passing yards, 87 passing touchdowns, 11 interceptions, 69.3% completion percentage, 340 rushing yards, 9 rushing touchdowns
2019 Stats (9 Games): 2840 passing yards, 33 passing touchdowns, 3 interceptions, 71.4% completion percentage, 17 rushing yards, 2 rushing touchdowns

Film Assessment

Games Watched: 2018: Georgia, Oklahoma 2019: South Carolina, LSU

Strengths: Tagovailoa is so smooth as a quarterback. He manages the pocket so well and isn’t fazed by pressure. He steps up and maneuvers within the pocket so effortlessly and fundamentally sound. He delivers the ball with excellent touch and accuracy to all levels of the field.

Tua scans through his progressions smooth and efficient and got better throughout his career making decisions on where to throw the football. In fact, his completion percentage grew every year and his interception rate fell in each of his three seasons with the Alabama Crimson Tide.

With fluid and stable mechanics, he delivers the ball with excellent ball placement. He might be the best quarterback prospect not only in the 2020 NFL Draft but that I have ever seen at placing the ball over the shoulder of his receiver deep downfield along either sideline with consistency.

Weaknesses: Tagovailoa’s injury concerns are his biggest negative. He has struggled to stay healthy throughout his career with a number of injuries. He has injured both ankles requiring surgery at separate times, and most recently he injured his hip requiring surgery as well.

The ankle injuries earlier in his career noticeably limited his mobility compared to what he could do early on. In fact, his rushing production dropped from 4.9 yards per rush to 3.3 yards per rush from 2017 to 2018 and only had 17 rushing yards in total in his 9 games this season. He doesn’t make the same off-script plays as he did early in his career as often and is mostly due to his lack of mobility at this time.

His arm strength is his only real on-the-field concern of note. It isn’t a red flag, but he doesn’t quite have the arm strength as some of the other top quarterback prospects in the 2020 NFL Draft. Sometimes defenders are able to make up ground on the outside because of the lack of velocity Tua can throw with to those areas.

Decision Making: 8/10
Pocket Presence: 9.5/10
Poise: 9/10
Progressions: 8.5/10
Arm Strength: 7/10
Short-Mid Accuracy: 9/10
Deep Accuracy: 9/10
Out of Structure: 7/10
Mechanics: 7/10
Athleticism: 5.5/10

Final Film Grade: 8.05 (Top-10 Talent Film Grade)

Best Film: Oklahoma ’18
Worst Film: Georgia ’18
Best Trait: Pocket Presence/Touch
Worst Trait: Arm Strength
Red Flags: Injuries (Hip/Ankles)

Summary: Tua Tagovailoa has had some of the best supporting casts throughout his career you can ask for at the collegiate level. That doesn’t mean, however, that Tua is not the reason for the success. Going 25-2 as a starter in your college career is no easy task. If healthy, Tagovailoa would easily be in the conversation for the number one pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.

The injuries are a huge concern. It wouldn’t be a glaring red flag if the injuries were small and didn’t affect his play, but his injuries have been noticeably detrimental to his game. He just simply can’t move as quick as he used to. Whether it be escaping from pressure or merely stepping up in the pocket, Tua is a step slower now than he was as a freshman coming into the National Championship Game.

However, Tua is still such a smooth processor and delivers the ball with great anticipation and placement. Whether it’s a vertical route down the sideline or a crosser over the middle of the field, Tua seems to have a strong understanding and ability to not only be accurate but place the ball in a spot where only his man has a chance. This is a trait that is hard to teach and requires trust in his arm talent.

He doesn’t have the strongest arm in the class, but when you pair his arm with his processing skills such as pocket management, poise, and progressions, he is such a threat. Tua will benefit at the next level if he has weapons around him. This isn’t to say he can’t make others better around him, but he is so good at just getting the ball in the hands of his playmakers and letting them do the work.

Tua, despite the injuries, is a top prospect in the 2020 NFL Draft. The phones will be ringing in Detroit to try and trade-up into the 3rd overall selection for their franchise quarterback. If no deal is made, he is likely to be selected either 5th overall to Miami or 6th to the Chargers.

His best landing spot would be the Los Angeles Chargers because they have the flexibility to sit him and make sure his body is right before playing him and starting the year with Phillip Rivers or Tyrod Taylor if Rivers retires.

They also have a great group of skill position players for Tua to grow with: Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, Hunter Henry, and Austin Ekeler. Overall, Tagovailoa made the right decision to not risk further injury and take on the NFL while he is still regarded as a top-10 pick.