Bengals To Consider Tua Tagovailoa, Justin Herbert, Chase Young
While favored to take Ohio native Joe Burrow at No. 1 overall, the Bengals are considering three other players for the top pick. The LSU standout is, of course, among this group. But the team is also studying Tua Tagovailoa, Justin Herbert and Chase Young for the pick, Albert Breer of SI.com reports.
The Bengals have stepped back from a report indicating they will not trade the No. 1 pick, but Breer notes the team is not expected to move down. Bengals brass praised the Heisman winner recently, and while it would be a borderline shock if they did not draft Burrow, the team plans to conduct on-campus visits and bring in each player for pre-draft workouts. Burrow, however, is still believed to be the frontrunner, per Breer.
Young is regarded by some as the best pass-rushing prospect available in years, and both Tagovailoa and Herbert entered the 2019 season with much higher profiles than Burrow. Young remains a strong bet to go to the Redskins at No. 2, and if the Bengals do draft Burrow, there could be some jockeying for position at the Nos. 3-4 slots (held by the Lions and Giants) for Tagovailoa and Herbert.
After throwing 16 touchdown passes in 13 games as a junior, Burrow tossed a record-setting 60 in the Tigers’ national championship season. Zac Taylor asked Burrow’s father, Jimmy — who, like Taylor, played at Nebraska — to see if Joe would go to the Senior Bowl, Breer adds. But Joe Burrow declined to attend the Mobile, Ala., showcase.
It is interesting as well to see a pecking order emerge before the Combine, though the Bengals’ top need is not exactly a secret. As such, Young may be trailing the three passers.
“We know what Joe is on tape; we know what Tua is on tape; we know what Justin is on tape,” Bengals player personnel director Duke Tobin said, via Breer. “Our role right now is to try to find out what we don’t know — how his leadership works, how his football mind works, how quickly he adapts to different situations, what his overall personality is, what it’s like being around him on a regular Tuesday. How much passion do they have for the game? … We’re trying to get at those types of things, with every player we do, but particularly the quarterbacks.
“… I feel like I’ve got a long way to go, because I’m just now starting the process of asking people close to them what they think of them.”
Dolphins Prepared To Move Up In Draft?
If the Dolphins want to move up to the No. 1 pick for LSU’s Joe Burrow – or to another pick for any other player – they’ll have the ammunition to get a deal done. This week, GM Chris Grier, who has a bevy of picks this year, publicly acknowledged the potential for a big jump on the board. 
At the same time, Grier pointed out what we all know – around this time of year, teams are eager to spread information that benefits them in order to drum up leverage. In other words, the Dolphins almost certainly want to come away with their quarterback of the future in this year’s draft, but their eagerness to land Burrow or any of this year’s other signal callers might be overstated.
Alabama star Tua Tagovailoa is among the prized QBs in this year’s crop and many have connected the dots between him and the Fins. For what it’s worth, Grier says he doesn’t feel pressured to roll the dice on the one-time consensus top prospect who has serious question marks due to his hip injury.
“We’ll evaluate him just like every player,” Grier said. “When people were talking about [us taking him], we said we weren’t tanking. We were trying to win and build. And so to say one player was attached to us, you can’t control what fans and people in the media say. So there’s no pressure for us. The pressure for us is to find the right guy to be the quarterback for the Dolphins, whether it’s him or someone else. That’s the pressure. Finding the right guy to lead the organization.”
For now, the Dolphins are slated to pick at No. 5 where Tagovailoa and other top QBs besides Burrow will be available. After that, they’re up again at Nos. 18 and 26.
Tua Tagovailoa Expected To Throw For Teams By April
Tua Tagovailoa will have a pre-draft workout process; it just may be limited compared to most quarterbacks who have entered the draft. But the Alabama prospect is expected to be ready to throw by April, according to agent Leigh Steinberg (via Mike Rodak of The Birmingham News).
Tagovailoa, who declared for the draft last week, plans to hold an approximate 40-minute session in which he throws 60-80 passes for teams, Steinberg said. It is not certain the southpaw will be ready to throw by Alabama’s March pro day, but the other plan would be to hold an independent session closer to the draft.
Given the nature of his hip injury, this spring session might be all teams have to go on (as far as pre-draft work) going into the April 23 event. But as of now, the plan is for Tagovailoa to also work out for teams individually before the draft, per Rodak. As for the Combine, Tagovailoa will do interviews but will not go through the drill circuit or throw.
The two-year college starter is expected to be a first-round pick, with many mocking him to the Dolphins at No. 5 overall. The Crimson Tide superstar rocketed into the NFL draft picture with a dominant 2018 season, which ended with the then-sophomore throwing 43 touchdown passes and six interceptions for a one-loss team. This season, Tagovailoa had a 33-3 TD-INT ratio before being carted off in a mid-November game against Mississippi State. He underwent surgery soon after and is expected to make a full recovery, though he cautioned he may need to make some adjustments to account for his surgically altered hip.
Tua Tagovailoa Enters NFL Draft
Tua Tagovailoa is going pro. On Monday, Alabama’s star quarterback announced that he will enter the 2020 NFL Draft. 
[RELATED: Updated 2020 NFL Draft Order]
Tagovailoa was long expected to enter the draft this year, but his brutal hip injury and subsequent surgery threw those plans into flux. Before the injury, Tagovailoa was projected to be the No. 1 overall pick. Now, between that and the emergence of Heisman Award winner Joe Burrow, no one is quite sure where he’ll land.
After the injury, doctors told the QB that he’ll be able to play football again at 100%. Even then, Tagovailoa conceded that he’ll have some barriers to overcome.
“I don’t think I’d be the same again because there’s, like metal in here, you know?” he said. “I lose some rotation inward, so I won’t be able to twist as much inward and whatnot. I wouldn’t need that as much. When you’re running, you’re almost always opening up your hip. From the doctors say, they expect a full recovery and I’ll be able to go out there and play football again at 100 percent, it’s just I won’t be able to rotate it internally the same way.”
Tagovailoa could have positioned himself as the top prospect in the 2021 draft by returning to school and turning in another strong season, but that would have come with significant risk. Instead of gambling, he’ll cash in his chips now and, in all likelihood, wind up as a first-round selection.
If tests and workouts show that Tagovailoa is truly 100% healthy – or close to it – he could still land somewhere in the top 10. The Lions could theoretically use the No. 4 pick to select Matthew Stafford‘s successor, though they have other pressing needs to fill. The Dolphins could also consider Tagovailoa at No. 5 and ease him into things with Ryan Fitzpatrick serving as their Week 1 starter.
Tua Tagovailoa On Hip Injury, 2020 NFL Draft
Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa recently suffered one of the most significant injuries in recent college football history. Previously a near-lock to go toward the top of the first-round, if not first overall, there is suddenly a ton of uncertainty surrounding the star passer since his devastating hip injury. Speaking to the media at a recent press conference, Tagovailoa provided an update on his recovery and his thought process regarding the upcoming draft. 
First, he described what was going through his mind on the field when the injury actually happened. “Yeah, I couldn’t comprehend anything,” Tagovailoa said Thursday, via Michael Casagrande of AL.com. “I had a concussion at the same time when I was on the ground. I think my body was just in such a traumatic state that I couldn’t really feel too much. I just know that, well from what I could remember, with every little movement I made on the ground, I was hurting. That’s all I can remember.”
While the signal-caller said his doctors have told him he’ll be able to play football again at 100 percent, he did concede that things will never be the same internally. “I don’t think I’d be the same again because there’s, like metal in here, you know?” he said. “I lose some rotation inward, so I won’t be able to twist as much inward and whatnot. I wouldn’t need that as much. When you’re running, you’re almost always opening up your hip. From the doctors say, they expect a full recovery and I’ll be able to go out there and play football again at 100 percent, it’s just I won’t be able to rotate it internally the same way.”
While that might sound worse than it actually is, Tagovailoa indicating he’ll have to change at all physically doesn’t inspire a ton of confidence. Interestingly Tagovailoa said he recently talked with legendary running back Bo Jackson at the Iron Bowl, and Jackson told him not to rush the process. Many people initially compared Tua’s hip injury to the one that ended Jackson’s football career, but Tagovailoa called them “two totally different situations with our hips.”
Finally with respect to the draft, Tagovailoa said he is still seriously considering returning to Alabama for his senior season. That being said, he seemed to indicate that he’ll go pro as long as the feedback from teams is good and suggests he won’t fall too far. When asked if he was projected to be a top 10-15 selection he acknowledged “that’d be tough to pass up” but also said “there’s a lot more to it in that aspect,” per Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link). We should know a lot more about Tagovailoa’s intentions shortly.
Draft Notes: Tua, Okwuegbunam, Reagor
As Tua Tagovailoa continues to rehab from a hip injury, the quarterback is uncertain whether he’ll enter the NFL Draft or stay at Alabama for another season. In a conversation with Cecil Hurt of TideSports.com (and passed along by Ian Rapoport of NFL.com on Twitter), Tagovailoa said he’ll continue to discuss his future with his parents in anticipation of the January 20th deadline to declare for the draft.
“There is a risk and a reward if I stay and a risk and a reward if I go,” Tagovailoa said. “The risk if I stay is obviously ‘Do I get hurt again?’ The reward is that I could come back and have another good year like my sophomore year and elevate myself back to the very top of the (NFL) draft.
“If I leave, I think the risk is a little higher. That risk would be how far do I drop in the draft. To me, it’s 50-50 between going in the first round and possibly going in the second round. If I go somewhere from first (overall) to around 24th, the money will be set. But let’s say — and I am just picking a number — that I go to the 31st pick. That would be about 9 million dollars. That’s a lot of money, an amount of money I’ve never had before, but it’s not high first-round money and you can never make that money up. They say you can (make it up) on your next contract but money lost is money lost to me.
“Those are the deciding factors. If my parents tell me that they think I should leave, that is obviously going to be a factor. But so far, they’ve told me that it’s my decision.”
The quarterback doesn’t have a timetable for his return from injury. Even with the ailment, we recently heard that Tagovailoa would still be a first-round pick in the 2020 draft.
Let’s check out some more draft notes:
- TCU wideout Jalen Reagor announced on Twitter that he’s entering the 2020 draft. Following a 1,000-yard campaign in 2018, Reagor finished 2019 with 43 catches for 611 yards and five touchdowns. The 5-foot-11, 195-pound receiver is listed as the sixth-best player at his position by CBS Sports.
- Maryland RB Anthony McFarland Jr. has declared for the 2020 draft. The former redshirt sophomore still had two years of eligibility. McFarland finished his season having compiled 614 rushing yards and eight scores on 114 carries. He added another 17 catches for 126 yards and a touchdown.
- Missouri will be losing a trio of contributors, as defensive tackle Jordan Elliott, tight end Albert Okwuegbunam, and offensive lineman Trystan Colon-Castillo all declared for the 2020 draft. Okwuegbunam is easily Missouri’s top-rated prospect, with the tight end ranking third at his position, per CBS Sports.
- Oregon State receiver Isaiah Hodgins will enter the NFL Draft, the player announced on social media (via Charean Williams of ProFootballTalk.com). The son of former NFL player James Hodgins, the Beavers wideout finished this past season with 86 receptions for 1,171 yards and 13 touchdowns. Considering the receiver depth in the upcoming draft, Hodgins will be hard pressed to be an early-round pick.
- Colorado wideout Laviska Shenault Jr. is entering the draft, the team announced on Twitter. “Laviska Shenault represented our relentless culture and was one of the most dynamic, dominant and versatile players that I have ever coached,” said head coach Mel Tucker. Shenault had 1,775 yards and 10 touchdowns between the 2018 and 2019 seasons.
Draft Rumors: Tua, Burrow, Fromm, Iowa
Tua Tagovailoa is not expected to return to Alabama to rebuild his stock, but said stock has taken a hit thanks to the severe hip injury he suffered last weekend. The junior Crimson Tide star can be downgraded to the No. 3 quarterback in next year’s class, per ESPN.com’s Todd McShay, who has LSU’s Joe Burrow and Oregon’s Justin Herbert ranked ahead of Tagovailoa.
“If he could’ve finished healthy, I think he would’ve been the first to go, so I do think it affects things, because there’s not a safe one now,” an AFC college scouting director told SI.com’s Albert Breer. “He was the safe one—he’s gonna be smart, accurate; he’s won at a high level, been on the big stage. Now, there’s not a safe one.”
Both Sam Bradford and Carson Wentz were top-two overall selections despite significant injuries occurring in their final college seasons, but the nature of Tagovailoa’s setback likely stands to ding his stock a bit more.
Here is the latest surrounding the next crop of draft-eligible prospects:
- While Tagovailoa and Herbert were viewed as the frontrunners to be the first quarterback taken in 2020, Burrow has now ascended to the favorite to land in that position, Breer hears. The second-year LSU starter is a Heisman Trophy candidate, having throw 38 touchdown passes as a senior. Though the former Ohio State backup was not previously on the first-round radar after an unremarkable junior season, his production has swayed NFL execs this year.
- McShay rated Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm as a second-tier quarterback prospect, and Breer adds some scouts expect the third-year Bulldogs starter to return for his senior season. Fromm plays in a run-first system, and scouts view him as more of an intangibles-geared prospect than one that will dazzle evaluators with physical ability, per Breer.
- Herbert, however, does possess those athletic traits, and Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller would be surprised if the Ducks senior falls out of the top five next year. The Dolphins were high on Herbert last year, and NFL GMs were trekking to some of his junior-season games. Tagovailoa’s injury stands to benefit the 6-foot-6 Herbert, Miller adds, as the former was previously on track to be taken ahead of the Pac-12 standout.
- Good news for Iowa fans. First-round tackle and defensive end prospects Tristan Wirfs and defensive end A.J. Epenesa are as of now expected to return to school for their senior seasons, Tony Pauline of ProFootballNetwork.com notes. Wirfs is viewed as one of the top tackles in the nation, with the 6-6, 280-pound Epenesa having totaled 22.5 sacks in his Hawkeyes tenure.
Alabama QB Tua Tagovailoa Turning Pro?
Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is telling people he is very likely to turn pro, according to Tony Pauline of the NFL Draft Network. While just a couple weeks ago this news would have been considered obvious, the past week raised significant questions about his future.
The Hawaii-born quarterback sustained a serious hip injury in the Crimson Tide’s victory over Mississippi State that some compared to Bo Jackson‘s career-ending hip injury. While the news since has revealed the injury was not quite as severe as Jackson’s it was still quickly determined that he would miss the remained of the collegiate season.
A consensus favorite to be the top draft choice in the 2020 NFL draft entering the season, Tagovailoa’s status had lost some luster to players like Ohio State’s Chase Young and LSU’s Joe Burrow. Still, Tagovailoa remained a lock to go in the first few picks in the draft.
After the injury news broke their became legitimate questions as to how he would approach the process. While he remains an elite prospect if healthy, that if though is an even larger concern now. If he remains unable to show teams his pre-injury form prior to the draft, it remains difficult to decipher if teams would still be willing to risk a top selection on him.
Surrounding Tagovailoa is a draft class that includes Burrows, Oregon’s Justin Herbert, Georgia’s Jake Fromm, and Washington’s Jacob Eason who have all gotten first round buzz of their own. Furthermore, this offseasons free-agent class is set to have an abnormally strong crop of quarterbacks as well, which could limit the teams looking at the top of the draft.
Depending on Tagovailoa’s priorities though, the injury could be viewed as further incentive to turn pro now. For one, returning to school risks incurring another even more severe injury before receiving a paycheck, but also, the decline in his draft stock could have positive long-term implications if it allows him to go to a team with a better organizational infrastructure to help him succeed and compete immediately.
Tua Tagovailoa Undergoes Successful Surgery
Alabama QB Tua Tagovailoa underwent surgery on his right hip Monday morning, the team announced. Tagovailoa was carted off the field during the Crimson Tide’s victory over Mississippi State on Saturday due to a dislocated hip, and it was announced shortly thereafter that he would miss the remainder of the collegiate season.
Of course, Tagovailoa was widely projected to be a top draft choice in the 2020 NFL draft, with some believing he could be the No. 1 overall selection. His injury threw not only his draft status, but his entire football career, into jeopardy, but it sounds as if the surgery went well. The statement, written by team orthopedic surgeon Dr. Lyle Cain, says Tagovailoa’s prognosis is excellent and indicates the star signal-caller will make a complete recovery. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com passes along the full statement here.
Per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, citing ESPN colleague Laura Rutledge, Tagovailoa will be rehabbing daily in Tuscaloosa (Twitter link). He will be able to resume athletic activity in three months and can begin throwing in the spring, so he may be able to fully work out for teams prior to the draft (if he chooses to enter).
Albert Breer of SI.com spoke with a few NFL execs to get their take on Tagovailoa’s draft stock, and, as expected, it seems too early to tell how teams will view Tagovailoa in light of his newest injury (he also has had two ankle surgeries in the last year, and his smallish stature may make him more susceptible to injury). He may come back to Alabama for his senior season and try to prove that he is not a health risk, though one of the execs Breer spoke with said he should still enter the draft in 2020.
In any event, the fact that the surgery went well is good news, and if he does decide to become a pro next year, he could be available to teams that may not have otherwise had a shot at him.
Injury Updates: Mack, Tagovailoa, Winston
The latest key injury updates:
- The Colts picked up a big win over the Jaguars on Sunday, but they’ll be without a key part of their offense for at least a little while. Running back Marlon Mack fractured his hand in the win over Jacksonville, a source told Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link). Rapoport says that Mack won’t play on Thursday night in a key divisional game against the Texans, and that “it’s up in the air beyond that.” Mack had been the team’s workhorse on offense, regularly garnering 20+ carries. Nyheim Hines and Jordan Wilkins will both see an uptick in work in the meantime.
- Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is done for the year with a hip injury, and there were instant fears that it could put his career in jeopardy. It’ll be a while before we know one way or the other, but the program released a new statement Sunday night that again expressed optimism. Tagovailoa is being transported to Houston to undergo surgery on his hip Monday, team surgeon Lyle Cain said in a statement, via Cecil Hurt of the Tuscaloosa News (Twitter link). Cain said that they “anticipate a full recovery,” which is great news.
- Bengals receiver Auden Tate went down with a scary neck injury and had to be carted off the field, but fortunately it looks like he’s going to be alright. Tate had rejoined to team and was on their flight back from Oakland, a source told Tom Pelissero of NFL Network (Twitter link). Pelissero said all tests were negative and that while he’ll be evaluated again tomorrow, “all signed” indicated that he “avoided major injury.” With A.J. Green still sidelined, Tate has been playing a huge role on offense for Cincy as they still search for their first win of the season.
- Jameis Winston picked up a left ankle injury in the Buccaneers’ loss to the Saints, and he was limping pretty badly toward the end of the game. Speaking to the media after the loss, head coach Bruce Arians said that he was about to go to backup Ryan Griffin, and that he should’ve, via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). Winston was able to convince Arians to let him go back in, but the head coach apparently regretted the decision. Winston told reporters after the game that he’ll be alright moving forward.