There is injury concern with Tua. It started with a hip injury but teams looked deeper at the NFL Combine. Teams looked into past leg and wrist injuries and what they found has caused many teams to reportedly question the durability of the former Alabama quarterback.
At the Combine Tua measured in at six foot tall and weighted 217 Lbs. NFL.com compared him to former Jaguars quarterback Mark Brunell. Brunell is a player many current Patriots fans only know from his days at ESPN. Few remember how much trouble he gave the Patriots in the 90s.
Tagovailoa has all the skills one looks for in a starting quarterback. He is a dual threat quarterback, which will allow for a diverse playbook. While he needs development in a few areas and is not the best under pressure, he should be able to keep plays alive just long enough for teams to put points on the board.
DJ Siddiqi of Clutch Point wrote "The New England Patriots could target Tua Tagovailoa after all." Siddiqi quoted Mel Kiper Jr. as saying "You know the connection with Bill Belichick and Nick Saban. And I know how Nick feels about Tua.” Siddiqi continued "despite his durability concerns, Kiper dismissed that notion, saying “quarterbacks don’t get hurt.”
Kiper went on to make this tongue twister of a statement, “If you go from Tom Brady to Tua, a healthy Tua. Now, that is the thing — can you keep him healthy? People say, ‘Well, everybody gets hurt.’ Quarterbacks don’t get hurt. Brady had the one injury when (Matt) Cassel came in. (Dan) Marino had the Achilles one year. Most of these quarterbacks, Eli (Manning) played forever, (Philip) Rivers, (John) Elway, (Jim) Kelly, when do these guys get hurt? The quarterbacks, when do they get hurt? This guy has had significant injuries, so to me, if he starts slipping a little bit, sliding down, where it happened with Aaron Rodgers not that long ago, and he was projected to be No. 1 two weeks before that draft and he went in the 20s, yes, if it did happen, I would think New England would be aggressive to try and go up and get him.”
People, especially Patriots fans are looking down on and disrespecting the Patriots current quarterback depth chart. While not elite, Hoyer and Stidham are still better then several current starting quarterbacks in the NFL. Mel Kiper is also forgetting about RG3 and Deshaun Watson's rookie seasons, both suffered major injuries. Where's RG3 now, not in Washington.
The Patriots do their homework and are just as opportunistic as the next team. Belichick is a cerebral assassin, and knows how to get teams to give up players they shouldn't. If Tua passed Belichick's requirements and falls to where the Patriots think they can get him, expect Belichick and company to make a move to get their pick.
The NFL draft is this Thursday and with all the rumors and speculations floating around, anything is possible, including Tagovailoa be taking with the 23rd pick.
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