Fansided

5 reasons the Dolphins should draft Tua Tagovailoa

By David Salituro

Tua Tagovailoa #13 of the Alabama Crimson Tide (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
Tua Tagovailoa #13 of the Alabama Crimson Tide (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images) /
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Tua injury
FAYETTEVILLE, AR – NOVEMBER 16: Tua Tagovailoa #13 of the Alabama Crimson Tide is helped off the field after being injured on a play in the first half of a game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Davis Wade Stadium on November 16, 2019 in Starkville, Mississippi. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) /

3) All signs point to Tua being healthy

Tagovailoa was in the conversation for the first-overall pick in the draft before a game against Mississippi State on Nov. 16. Escaping from the pocket in the second quarter, he was dragged down from behind by Bulldogs defenders. It turned out to be the final play he would ever run for Alabama.

Tagovailoa left the game and was later diagnosed with a broken hip, ending his season and college football career. Questions about the health of that hip, and about his susceptibility to injury after suffering a sprained ankle in 2018, continue to linger and dropped him down draft boards.

But, nearly five months removed from that injury, every indication is that he’s fully healed. Tagovailoa himself is confident it won’t be an issue moving forward. “I feel 100 percent,” he told NFL Network last week. “I feel like if there was a game today, I’d be able to go out and perform the same way I was able to perform in previous years.”

On March 23, Tagovailoa posted a video to social media showing him going through passing drills, the first glimpse of him in action since the injury. A medical exam conducted last week gave him a clean bill of health.

The Dolphins, however, won’t be able to see for themselves how well Tagovailoa has recovered. The COVID-19 pandemic has paused offseason activities, preventing teams from performing their own physicals. Former Dolphins’ front office head Mike Tannenbaum even suggested it would be “irresponsible” for a team to use a top-10 pick on him given the uncertainly about the injury.

The Dolphins are left with a decision to make: avoid taking the risk, or believe Tagovailoa.

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