Tua Tagavailoa - 2020 NFL Draft Scouting Report

You know how good Tua Tagavailoa is? I can spell his name without looking it up. He has become such an institution of football that Tagavailoa is like Smith to me. I’m still going to refer to him as Tua for most of the rest of this report, but that is just for convenience of three letters vs. 123456789...10 letters. 

Going into this season, Tua was the presumptive number one pick for the 2020 draft. He again had a marvelous season that was sadly cut short due to a serious hip injury. The medical stuff is scary, especially because he has constantly been nicked up with different injuries. I couldn’t think of another top selection that had this much issue with injuries, and unfortunately, Tua and his team likely won’t be sharing his medical records with me (it wouldn’t actually help, even if they did), so I’m going to base my evaluation on the tape. I will say that if things do look like they are progressing on schedule, I don’t think he’ll drop out of the top five from the overall thoughts on his talent. Still, I wanted to do my own research and check out his games against LSU, South Carolina and the National Championship game against Clemson from his sophomore season.

Here's a very nice throw from Tua, but what is more important is the patience he shows. He sees that his offensive line has the pass rush handled, and he waits. He doesn't rush anything, and eventually he sees his receiver pulling open, and hits him 20 yards down the field.

This is maybe the worst example of his skill with pocket presence, and even on this sack and fumble, you can see him compact his body before the contact as he does still recognize it at the last second. Unfortunately, it was a little too late, but for the most part, he does a great job of feeling pressure while keeping his eyes downfield.

I love how when Tua escapes pressure, it’s not to wildly scramble, his first goal is to climb the pocket so he can still make a play with his arm. He’s a very good athlete so he can run, but his first thought is pass. And even though it’s incomplete, it’s a catchable ball because of how well he moves and sets his feet, he basically had to throw it behind the receiver to avoid the coverage.

This is a very ugly pass, but he does a beautiful job of avoiding the pass rush in order to get the ball off. Again, he not only avoids pressure but keeps his eyes down the field in order to make a play.

Does Tua have small hands? Before that play, he had a bad fumble on the simple act of switching the ball to his outside hand. This is about as minor of a concern as a concern can get, but it is something that could cause more fumbles than you would like at the next level. On the other hand, everything Tua does looks like how you would ideally want it done. His footwork is always precise, his body is in sync, and he always seems aware of his surroundings. That should probably be weighed more heavily than possible small hands.

This is both too easy and beautiful. I have nothing else to add.

Okay, okay, if he's going to keep doing this, I guess I need to say something. I have NEVER seen a quarterback consistently throw a better deep ball than Tagavailoa. It's incredible.

He had so many plays that made me say expletives out loud.

Seriously? Seriously.

Here, not only does he do a great job of stepping up in the opening in the pocket, but he perfectly leads his receiver crossing the field so he can not only catch the ball in stride but also pick up a first down on 3rd and 19.

This pass doesn’t look like much, but it’s incredibly hard to find the right angle to lead a receiver properly on this swing pass, and Tua does it perfectly. 

Here, he looks to the right side of the field which gets the deep safety to drift over that way. Then he quickly sets his feet and nails his receiver crossing over the middle. It's textbook.

On talent alone, Tua Tagavailoa is BY FAR the best quarterback in this draft, and that’s not a knock on Joe Burrow, who is worthy of being a number one overall pick. But Tua isn’t just great for this draft, he may be the best quarterback prospect I have ever seen. I was head over heels in love with Andrew Luck, but on quarterback skills alone, I think I would put Tua ahead of him.

But then there’s the injuries. And not just the hip injury, but the issue he’s had with his ankle and all of these nicks here and there. It’s obviously a big concern, but I can only go off what I see, and if this guy is healthy, he’s a generational talent. I think he should be in consideration for the first overall pick, and I really cannot see a scenario where he drops out of the top five if the hip is making progress. Too often, people try to be too smart and nitpick a guy who has been good for many years in college. There’s no need to overthink this one, Tua is incredible, and if healthy, he will make any team that passes on him regret it.