Just A Minute: Why the Key to Where Tua Tagovailoa Gets Drafted May be a Georgia Guy

The team to watch regarding Tua Tagovailoa isn't the Miami Dolphins, but the Detroit Lions

Tua Tagovailoa is in South Florida making the rounds at the Super Bowl, which was a shrewd move by his agent Leigh Steinberg as every NFL team is there and the local media is already in a frenzy over the former University of Alabama quarterback.

Even before last season, the Miami Dolphins were the team most linked to Tagovailoa, and when general manager Chris Grier recently described his ideal quarterback he did everything but say Tagovailoa’s name.

The general consensus is that there's no way Tagovailoa drops past No. 5, which is when the Dolphins pick, behind the Bengals, Redskins, Lions and Giants. That, of course, only reaffirms that he made the right decision to leave school early even after his hip injury. 

“I was very close,” Tagovailoa told Pro Football Talk. “I sat down with my family, my parents, got to see where their hearts were with this whole thing.”

What Tua Tagovailoa Said at the Super Bowl About His Injury Recovery and the NFL Draft

Tagovailoa also said he found it a little crazy that “fans are rooting for [their teams to draft] you and you haven’t even decided you’re going to the NFL yet.” 

Although the Dolphins are a likely, and obvious strong possibility, the key to that happening may be with the team picking third, Detroit, and general manager Bob Quinn.

Cincinnati will likely go with the local standout, Joe Burrow, the Heisman Trophy winner who statistically had the best single season in the history of college football. That he's from the state makes it almost impossible for the Bengals not to selected him. 

At No. 2, the Washington Redskins will likely select Ohio State pass rusher Chase Young, who is viewed as the best overall talent in the draft.

T.G. Paschal/BamaCentral

That brings us to Detroit, which lost nine straight games and gave up an average of 400-plus yards a game. A major change is needed, and taking Tagovailoa would buy the front office some time to make them. 

The Lions to have Matthew Stafford at quarterback, and there's some rumblings out there that the Lions might be listening to offers including a first-round draft pick. Of course, the Raiders might be doing the exact same thing with Derek Carr, but one has to wonder how many teams out there feel that they're just a quarterback away from the Super Bowl. 

The Lions never have won a Super Bowl, and they've won only a single playoff game since 1957, the year of their last NFL championship

If I was Tagovailoa, I'd be in Miami this week too. 

What's the latest with Tua Tagovailoa's hip? We ask the man himself as well as the prospects of playing in Miami full time. #SBLIV #USATRR https://t.co/QvTinyMMpk

— USA TODAY Sports (@usatodaysports) January 30, 2020