Washington Redskins 2020 NFL Draft: Is Tua Tagovailoa a real option at No. 2?

As the 2020 NFL Draft gets closer, I can’t help but wonder whether Tua Tagovailoa, not Chase Young, will be the pick for the Washington Redskins at No. 2.

Ever since the Washington Redskins locked down the second overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, Ohio State edge rusher Chase Young has felt like the obvious pick for the team. Joe Burrow is widely expected to go first overall to the Cincinnati Bengals, leaving Young, who is almost inarguably the top prospect in the 2020 NFL Draft class for Washington at No. 2.

That being said, with Tua Tagovailoa seemingly doing well in his rehab from the hip injury, I can’t help but wonder whether he will be an option for Washington. As we near closer to the 2020 NFL Draft, Tagovailoa feels like a more realistic option for the Washington Redskins than ever before.

On Monday, Tony Pauline of the Pro Football Network reported that Washington has a meeting scheduled with the former Alabama star at the Combine. While Pauline warns not to read too much into this and notes that it is just Washington “doing their due diligence”, he does also mention that there are “some in the Washington organization not sold on Dwayne Haskins.”

This meeting with Tua may be absolutely nothing, but what if new head coach Ron Rivera is one of the guys in the organization not sold on Haskins? Rivera agreed to a five-year contract with the Redskins earlier this offseason and he may want to get a new quarterback into the mix. Having a new regime in place at least opens the door to this possibility.

Earlier on Monday, Ben Standig of The Athletic also wrote about the possibility of Tua Tagovailoa landing with the Redskins.

"“This isn’t based on ‘sources said’ from inside Redskins Park,” Standig wrote. “Still, a combination of discussions with various league sources on the draft on Haskins, plus paying attention to what team officials say and intuition gives me reason to imagine the Redskins give Tagovailoa at two due consideration.”“The new coaching staff is learning about their roster but isn’t married to Haskins,” he continued. “Rivera often mentions the idea of creating a QB competition. That’s probably a veteran rather than a rookie, but it infers he’s open to alternatives. This after months of concerns over Haskins’s work habits peppered his rookie season.”"

I will admit, this does not feel overly likely. Young is a defensive superstar in the making and a trade down should also be on the Washington Redskins radar. That being said, Tua Tagovailoa is an incredibly talented quarterback prospect and Haskins was not exactly impressive last season.

If his medicals continue to check out, Tagovailoa is going to be a difficult prospect for any team to pass up. Nothing is more important than having a franchise quarterback and while Tua is risky, he undoubtedly has franchise quarterback ability at the next level.

In the end, I imagine that the Washington Redskins will stand pat and take Chase Young with the second overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. That being said, where there is smoke, there is usually fire. I would not completely ignore these suggestions that Tua is an option for Washington at No. 2.