The Miami Dolphins’ plan for quickie visit with Tua Tagovailoa scuttled by coronavirus
The only thing that could stop the Miami Dolphins from getting a close look at Tua Tagovailoa before the draft?
A global pandemic.
But it wasn’t for lack of trying.
Before the league shut down all pre-draft travel and on-campus visits, the Dolphins rushed to set up a trip to Davie for the Alabama quarterback and potential top 5 draft pick.
What’s more, the Dolphins’ first call went to Tagovailoa — a sign of how urgently they wanted to get him in town before travel was banned, the Miami Herald has learned. NFL Network first reported the development.
The Dolphins’ interest makes sense.
The Dolphins will in a month need to make a decision on whom to draft in the first round, and Tagovailoa is the biggest wild card of the bunch because of his health. Tagovailoa still is working back from a major hip injury that prematurely ended his junior season.
He was supposed to work out for team on April 9 ahead of next month’s draft, but with all NFL business on hold because of coronavirus, there’s a chance no one will get a first-hand look at his progress.
Tagovailoa, of course, could always share video of a private workout with teams, but that’s not the same as having an army of coaches, scouts and even doctors present to evaluate.
The added uncertainty only increases the chances that the Dolphins look elsewhere for their quarterback. They have the ammunition to move up to 1 for Joe Burrow, but it’s unclear if (and frankly, unlikely that) the Bengals would pass up the chance to take LSU’s Heisman Trophy winner.
Which probably leaves the Dolphins three options in the first round: Tagovailoa, Oregon’s Justin Herbert and Utah State’s Jordan Love. They have great interest in all three, and were able to fly Love in for a visit before the NFL lockdown.
They also were able to meet with Ohio State running back J.K. Dobbins hours before the league-imposed deadline.
The Bengals, Dolphins and Chargers are all expected to take quarterbacks in the top 10. Assuming Cincinnati stays put at 1, Chris Grier might have to deal with Los Angeles, which picks 6, trading ahead of Miami in the top 5 to ensure getting the team’s preferred prospect.
This story was originally published March 19, 2020 at 10:41 AM.
