Tua Tagovailoa declaring for the draft means Redskins will have trade offers for No. 2 pick

Tua Tagovailoa made one of the most important decisions of draft season on Monday. He’s entering the 2020 NFL Draft and here’s how that could impact the Washington Redskins.

On Monday, Tua Tagovailoa officially let the NFL know what his future would be. The star quarterback was choosing between declaring for the 2020 NFL Draft or returning to Alabama for one more season after suffering a season-ending hip injury late in 2019.

Ultimately, Tagovailoa elected to enter the 2020 draft. He further strengthens an already good-looking quarterback group and there’s a strong chance that he will be the second quarterback off the board if medical checks go well. He could have even been the No. 1 overall pick if not for the injury and the stellar play of LSU’s Joe Burrow.

Though the Redskins aren’t looking for a quarterback in this class — they drafted Dwayne Haskins in the first round last year — Tagovailoa’s decision still has an impact on them. They hold the No. 2 pick and now, they could get some serious trade offers from teams in pursuit of Tua.

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There are several teams that will be looking for their quarterbacks of the future in 2020. There are three teams picking in the top-10 that could have interest in drafting a quarterback. They are the Miami Dolphins, Los Angeles Chargers, and the Carolina Panthers. Further down, the Indianapolis Colts (13th pick) may look for a Jacoby Brissett replacement while the New England Patriots (23rd) may need a new starter if Tom Brady departs in free agency.

With demand for quarterbacks being high and this class having a few potential franchise options in it, the Redskins should get some big-time trade offers. Teams like the Chargers and Panthers could want to leapfrog the Dolphins if they fall in love with Tagovailoa. That could make the Redskins pick an object of interest, as any team that acquires that would be guaranteed their choice of quarterback aside from Burrow, assuming that he goes off the board first.

Of course, Washington may have no interest in trading the No. 2 pick. They are in prime position to land the best overall player in this draft class, edge rusher Chase Young, and may not want to sacrifice him, even for a haul of picks. That said, the option may still be on the table for them, so they should at least give it some thought.

If the Redskins were to make a move, they’d likely start with a package that include a 2020 first-round pick, a 2020 second-round pick (they don’t have one as they parted with it in the Montez Sweat trade), and a future first-round pick as well.

The package would depend on who they’re trading with. If it was with another team picking in the top-10, they may get fewer picks, but the assets would be viewed as better. They could trade further down to really try to maximize things, but then they might miss out on some of the other top talent they would want to target in this class.

Right now, the Redskins are still absolutely favored to keep the No. 2 pick and take Young to further bolster their defense. It just makes too much sense to take a blue-chip prospect that could really take their already excellent defensive line to an elite level. It’s more likely that the teams looking for a quarterback could bait the Detroit Lions, the owner of the No. 3 overall pick, into a trade. So, the focus may be there for some squads.

Moving forward, it is still worth keeping an eye out for any potential trade rumors. The Redskins may not go after any packages offered to them, but there may at least be some offers on the table that are worth checking out.