Panthers Tracks: Tua Tagovailoa’s decision could make a weak quarterback draft weaker
One decision today will greatly affect April’s NFL Draft.
Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama’s junior quarterback, and coach Nick Saban will hold a news conference at noon to presumably announce whether the coveted NFL prospect will be entering the draft or returning to school for his senior year.
Should he enter the draft, Tagovailoa grades out as the second-best available quarterback (90), according to ESPN’s prospect rankings, behind Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow (93) and ahead of Oregon’s Justin Herbert (88). (Players with grades 90 and above are considered “rare” talents that possess “all the skill to take over a game and play at a championship level.” Players grading between 80-89 are considered second-round prospects.) Should he choose to return to Alabama for his senior year, which, given the news of Monday’s event with his coach, may be where things are heading, there would be only one first-round-graded quarterback in the draft.
ESPN’s top-10 quarterback grades for the 2020 draft:
- Joe Burrow, LSU — 93
- Tua Tagovailo, Alabama — 90
- Justin Herbert, Oregon — 88
- Jake Fromm, Georgia — 86
- Jacob Eason, Washington — 85
- Jordan Love, Utah State — 80
- Nate Stanley, Iowa — 73
- Anthony Gorden, Washington State — 67
- Jalen Hurts, Oklahoma — 66
K.J. Costello, Stanford — 49
We talked at length in last Monday’s Panthers Tracks about what Carolina should do in the draft and how a lot of that depends on if Cam Newton is brought back for the final year of his contract. It’s clear the Panthers will need a new franchise quarterback soon (though not necessarily in 2020), and in the event Tagovailoa announces he’s returning to school, we’ll have more later today about how that could change Carolina’s approach in the draft at CharlotteObserver.com.
Young blood for the AFC in the Super Bowl
No quarterback in NFL history has more playoff starting experience than Tom Brady (41 games), and with the Patriots’ wild-card loss to the Titans on Saturday came the guarantee that this year’s Super Bowl would have at least one fresh face starting under center.
The four quarterbacks of the remaining AFC playoff teams (Lamar Jackson, Ravens; Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs; Deshaun Watson, Texans; Ryan Tannehill, Titans) have six combined postseason games between them. Compare that to three of the four remaining NFC quarterbacks, who have 32 combined games and two Super Bowl titles between them. (This week will be Jimmy Garoppolo’s first playoff start.)
Playoff starting experience by QB in this year’s postseason
- Tom Brady, Patriots — 41 (30-11)
- Aaron Rodgers, Packers — 16 (9-7)
- Drew Brees, Saints — 16 (8-8)
- Russell Wilson, Seahawks — 14 (9-5)
- Kirk Cousins, Vikings — 2 (1-1)
- Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs — 2 (1-1)
- Deshaun Watson, Texans — 2 (1-1)
- Ryan Tannehill, Titans — 1 (1-0)
- Josh Allen, Bills — 1 (0-1)
- Lamar Jackson, Ravens — 1 (0-1)
- Carson Wentz, Eagles — 1 (0-1)
- Jimmy Garoppolo, 49ers — 0
Source: footballdb.com
Required reading
+ Panthers mailbag, coaching search edition
+ Breaking down the Panthers’ 2020 free agents and who Carolina should prioritize signing
+ Dan Snyder finally made a smart move by hiring Ron Rivera in Washington
This story was originally published January 6, 2020 at 4:00 AM.
