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Deion Sanders on Tua Tagovailoa: "He would be my No. 1 for obvious reasons"

Deion Sanders says he would take Tua Tagovailoa, not Joe Burrow with the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft

James Rapien

Deion Sanders on Tua Tagovailoa: "He would be my No. 1 for obvious reasons"
Deion Sanders on Tua Tagovailoa: "He would be my No. 1 for obvious reasons" /

The Bengals are going to take Joe Burrow with the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. The LSU signal-caller had one of the best seasons we’ve ever seen from a college football player in 2019. He led the Tigers to a 15-0 record and a National Championship. Not everyone is sold on Burrow, including Hall-of-Famer Deion Sanders.

"I like Tua. I like everything about Tua," Sanders said on NFL Network. "He has a portfolio that says, 'You know what? This guy's a winner.' He has a portfolio that says, 'You know he can overcome adversity.' He makes correct decisions. The thing I love about him the most is the way he handles himself in front of the microphone, in front of his teammates, and when his back is up against the wall. He's gone through something traumatic with his injury, and he's bouncing back. I love this kid. He would be my No. 1 for obvious reasons because he gives me more film for me to judge his potential of success.”

Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is one of the top quarterbacks in this draft, but he dislocated his hip last season, which hurt his chances of being the No. 1 pick.

The Bengals might’ve picked Tagovailoa ahead of Burrow if both were healthy and didn’t have any health concerns. Unfortunately for Tua, injuries impacted his draft stock.

“Tua’s a very impressive guy in all areas. So it doesn’t overly surprise me that he’s up and going and showing what he can do and pushing through any discomfort he has,” Bengals Director of Player Personnel Duke Tobin said on Thursday. “It’s been impressive to see his recovery and I’m glad to see it. I was disheartened to see him go down. He’s such a likable guy and such a competitive football player that it’s good to see him up and going again.”

The Bengals aren’t going to pick Tagovailoa, but history could’ve changed if he never suffered that catastrophic injury in November. 

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James Rapien
JAMES RAPIEN

James Rapien is the publisher of Bengals On SI. He's also the host of the Locked on Bengals podcast and Cincinnati Bengals Talk on YouTube. The Cincinnati native also wrote a book about the history of the Cincinnati Bengals called Enter The Jungle. Prior to joining Bengals On SI, Rapien worked at 700 WLW and ESPN 1530 in Cincinnati

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