The Washington Redskins are sitting pretty with the second pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. They have the option to draft a generational pass-rusher out of Ohio State in Chase Young or to trade the pick for a treasure trove of draft picks to a desperate team that needs a quarterback. Despite the presumption from media pundits and passionate fans that these are the only two reasonable choices, that is simply not the case. The Redskins must draft Tua Tagovailoa to help kick-start a new era of football under head coach Ron Rivera.
Why the Washington Redskins Should Take Tua Tagovailoa
Accepting the Sunk Cost
The Redskins drafted quarterback Dwayne Haskins 15th overall in the 2019 NFL Draft. In his scouting report, Haskins was described as a passer with strong pocket presence and arm strength, but limited athleticism and difficulties with reading coverages. Les Carpenter of the Washington Post indicated that head coach Jay Gruden did not want to draft Haskins. Throughout his final season with the team, Gruden refused to start Haskins, despite Case Keenum‘s struggles and poor team performance.
It was not until Bill Callahan took over that Haskins became the starter. During this time, the rookie quarterback was criticized by veterans like Adrian Peterson, who questioned Haskins’ knowledge of the playbook. Overall, Haskins was underwhelming in his rookie season, completing 58.6% of his passes for 1,365 yards, seven touchdowns, and seven interceptions on a 6.7 yards per attempt. This concluded a disappointing campaign, where he struggled to beat out mediocre quarterbacks like Keenum and Colt McCoy, had issues learning the playbook, and did not perform well on the field.
This is why the Redskins need to look at their investment in Haskins as a sunk cost. Not only did he fail to meet expectations as a rookie, but there is a superior option available. This is a similar situation that the Arizona Cardinals faced one year ago. They drafted Josh Rosen 10th overall in the 2018 NFL Draft but decided to move on after only one season because Kyler Murray was available.
This is a strategy that needs to be adopted my more NFL teams. Quarterback is so much more important than every other position, that it is worth investing multiple first-round picks until a team is able to find a franchise quarterback. Luckily for the Redskins, there such a player available in this year’s upcoming draft in Tagovailoa. The new front office needs to ignore the public scrutiny they would face by abandoning a first-round quarterback after only one year and make the bold move.
Take Tua Tagovailoa
Tagovailoa entered the season as the consensus top quarterback in the nation. That changed following Joe Burrow’s fantastic Heisman campaign, making him the presumtive first-overall pick. Tua also suffered a season-ending hip injury that was originally believed to be career-threatening.
Burrow’s dominance and Tua’s injury made people forget just how dominant he really was at Alabama. Tagovailoa finished his college career with the highest quarterback rating in college football history, along with a 71.4% completion rate, 7,442 passing yards, 87 touchdowns and 11 interceptions on 10.9 yards per attempt. He led the team to two National Championships – one as a winner and the other as a finalist. This type of experience is invaluable to his growth as a player, as he was able to play on the biggest stage in college football on multiple occasions.
Former Baltimore Ravens quarterback Trent Dilfer described Tua as “one of the finest prospects that he’s ever evaluated,” with similar pocket awareness to superstar quarterbacks like Aaron Rodgers and Patrick Mahomes. Tua’s agent, Mike Rodak, has already reported that the former Crimson Tide quarterback will be ready to throw for NFL scouts prior to the draft. It’s starting to look as though he could potentially return for the start of the 2020 season.
Simply put, Tua has much more upside than Haskins at the most premium position in football. We know that Young will be a stud pass-rusher, but how many teams with a great pass-rush but mediocre quarterbacks have won Super Bowls? When considering whether to draft Tua or Young, remember to ask this question: who is more likely to be a franchise quarterback: Haskins or Tua? Most of you will answer with Tua, in which case the decision is obvious, despite Young’s sky-high upside. The Redskins must draft Tua Tagovailoa.
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