Tua Tagovailoa still tops 2020 QB draft prospects but gap isn’t wide
By Brian Miller
Nine weeks into the college season Tua Tagovailoa remains at the top of the 2020 QB draft prospects but the gap isn’t as wide as it was.
At the end of the 2018 college season, Tua Tagovailoa was the top 2020 QB draft prospect being talked about but he wasn’t alone. Oregon’s Justin Herbert and Georgia’s Jake Fromm. Now as teams like the Miami Dolphins look to obtain the first overall draft pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, these quarterbacks are getting more attention but are not the only ones.
This year other names are starting to pop up. Jordan Love, Jalen Hurts of Oklahoma, and LSU’s Joe Burrow. With so many teams in need of quarterback help, there could be a big run on QB’s in the first round of this year’s draft.
As mentioned, many believe that Tua Tagovailoa is clearly the number one quarterback in this class and he will remain the top prospect at least until the NFL Combine if not the draft itself. Tagovailoa will miss at least three weeks with an ankle injury and how well or poorly Alabama performs without him could have a minor impact on his slotting.
The 2020 quarterback class could be the best class in years but all of the QB’s have some deficiencies.
Justin Herbert is as of now the closest to being NFL ready and the biggest name to push Tagovailoa for the top prospect. He has NFL arm talent with great vision and accuracy that all NFL teams look for but his biggest issue is his inconsistency and he needs to improve on that.
Herbert has all the tools to be a great NFL QB but if he can’t play consistently from week to week, something he is not showing this year, he could struggle at the next level early and he may not hold on to the number two spot in the drafts quarterback class.
At Georgia, Jake Fromm is making a big case for the number two quarterback in the draft. Fromm is a really solid quarterback with great intangibles. He has a solid vision of the field and does well to look off primary routes and work his progressions. He can move around the pocket but isn’t really mobile, enough to avoid pressure but he isn’t going to turn and run much.
Fromm’s biggest knock is his arm strength but he can still make most throws that will be required at the NFL level. Unlike Herbert he is consistent. Herbert is a gunslinger and likes to throw the ball where Fromm is a bit more reserved and calculated. He takes fewer risks and that is a good thing and a bad thing sometimes. One thing he does have is he thrives under pressure and remains calm in tough situations.
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Joe Burrow is really coming on strong this year. The LSU quarterback has looked great all season. He has a strong arm and can make every throw. He has a very good vision of the field and can throw the ball quickly and with touch. Burrow, however, lacks pocket awareness and can get trapped in the pocket because of it.
Burrow is an upright passer which means he stands tall in the pocket but that also hurts his mobility and he is less accurate on the run. He needs to set his feet to throw but that is something that can be coached. His pocket awareness needs to improve but at LSU he doesn’t face much pressure.
Jalen Hurts is another top prospect that formerly played at Alabama before transferring to Oklahoma. He is an exciting player to watch and many see a lot of Patrick Mahomes in him. He is accurate, mobile, quick, and has a lot of touch on the ball. Hurts’ biggest issue, however, is he can erratic and takes chances he shouldn’t take.
Hurts plays far better out of the pocket than he does in it and that could scare off some teams who want a more traditional prototype QB, which Hurts is not.
All of the quarterbacks have minor hiccups in their game. Some won’t matter and some will depend on how a team uses that quarterback. As an example, if Hurts is used as a pure pocket passer he won’t likely last in the NFL.
Teams have a vision for what they need at the position. Miami, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and maybe Denver are all teams that could be looking for a QB this year but it really comes down to who ends up in the top five that will determine how many quarterbacks are drafted early.
As for Tua Tagovailoa, his ankle injury history isn’t much of a concern just yet. He has the mobility and pocket awareness to play in the pocket and out. He has the accuracy and the ability to throw deep and with touch. He may be on the shorter side and he has not faced top college talent weekly but for now, he remains the overall consensus number one draft pick next April. We will see if the other quarterbacks can change minds.