Redskins: The case for and against drafting Tua Tagovailoa
Why the Redskins shouldn’t draft Tua
The injury history of Tagovailoa is as frightening as they come. The hip injury’s effectiveness on a player’s long-term health is undeniable and is very much a red-flag.
The hip injury Tagovailoa has suffered is uncommon in football fields, much more common in high impact car accidents. With the ‘Bama quarterback sustaining such a devastating injury without playing a lick of NFL ball, the Redskins should very well do their due diligence on the matter.
The hip, along with the ankle injury which required surgery an offseason ago, is also alarming. With health not being much on his side, with the number and severity of injuries Tagovailoa has sustained thus far, risking the second overall draft selection on an injury-prone QB when you just drafted one the prior year, isn’t the smartest choice.
Washington Commanders
Especially if, the other option is Ohio State defensive end Chase Young, who some have compared to perennial All-Pro Julius Peppers.
Not only that, but Tagovailoa, while doing well with the cards dealt with him, has thrown to premiere elite NFL talent over the past couple of seasons. In Washington, the return on that investment might be delayed a few years that this regime just isn’t willing to wait for.
Haskins hasn’t given the Redskins organization a reason to give up on him so quickly, especially after the signs he showed last season. He truly was given a lose-lose scenario going into the 2019 NFL season. With no first-team reps coming to the rookie until he was declared the starter in Week 9, he was essentially expected to make chicken salad out of chicken… you get the point.
Haskins showed promise especially in some of the later parts of the season. In Weeks 12 and 13, he delivered the Redskins two back to back wins, one of which came in comeback fashion against the Detroit Lions.
Haskins, after getting practice time with the first team improved immensely from the beginning of the season. He truly began to show a variety of flashes of being above a competent NFL quarterback.
He was one Josh Norman blown coverage away from a 27-24 victory against the Philadelphia Eagles, which would’ve given the ‘Skins three wins in their last four. That same contest, he was on fire, going 19-of-28 for 261 passing yards and two touchdowns. The game began to come to him, and before an injury took him out, he began another impressive performance the following week against the New York Giants.
The sample size is too small to judge the outcome of the Haskins scenario as well. There’s no true answer at this moment. Considering he’s never been given the full-time starter opportunity, there’s no way you can make an accurate decision on the quarterback position.
Given that the roster was mediocre as well, you can’t expect a one-year college starter to become Peyton Manning with zero first-team time, especially when the team around him is already bad!