2020 NFL Draft: Ranking the top 5 quarterbacks in preseason
By Cory Kinnan
3. Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama
Height: 6-1
Weight: 218 pounds
2018 Production:
69 percent completion rate; 3,966 passing yards; 43 touchdowns; 6 interceptions
2018 Games watched:
Ole Miss; Missouri; Auburn; Louisville; Arkansas
Strengths:
The hype with Tua Tagovailoa that is already all over the web is his pinpoint accuracy on his deep ball. Tagovailoa is by far the most accurate quarterback on his deep ball in the class. The “modern NFL” trend is fitting to Tagovailoa’s style of play as he makes a ton of quick read-pass option, one read throws at Alabama in 2018.
Tua’s escapability is top notch as he has plenty of “Heisman moments” to choose from; he is the most mobile and quick twitched quarterback on the list. Tagovailoa has so many quality traits and performs well across the board, doing the most things well, but nothing (outside of deep accuracy and escapability) the best.
Weaknesses:
Tagovailoa could work on better ball placement on his quick hitters on slants and dump offs, often leaving the ball high and potential to leave his receivers out to dry. In many circumstances, Tua’s second read is a dump off to his running back leaving this writer questioning his ability to progress through reads. While the fade route is phasing out anyway, it is not a throw that Tua excels at.
The sense is gotten that Tua’s mentality is often “When in doubt, huck it deep” when reading coverages, which often can be overlooked as his receivers usually make the play for him.
Summary:
Tagovailoa rarely has to progress to his second read, a problem which is not on him because his first read is often open, but does leave a question mark with his receivers putting in a ton of leg work for their quarterback. He is a solid quarterback who does a lot well, but does not particularly do anything which makes this writer think “this is undoubtedly the best quarterback in this class.”
In a draft which will see a handful of quarterbacks drafted in the first round, Tua seems to be a lock in this conversation. Here, he lands just behind Fromm and Herbert as the third quarterback.