With coronavirus limiting workouts, Tua Tagovailoa does 'virtual' pro day and will send it to teams
In a normal year, Tua Tagovailoa would have performed at Alabama’s pro day by now and been on to any private workouts he wanted to schedule.
Instead, NFL teams are going to get a video of Tagovailoa working out with fewer than 10 people in attendance.
Tagovailoa doesn’t have the luxury of letting his college tape and NFL scouting combine numbers speak for themselves, thanks to a hip injury that cut short his final season. Though Tagovailoa’s doctor told Yahoo Sports’ Eric Edholm he is “extremely pleased” with the quarterback’s recovery from surgery, teams still want to see as much as they can from Tagovailoa. They don’t want to risk a top-five pick without seeing as much as they can.
So Tagovailoa had a virtual pro day.
Tua Tagovailoa has an hour-long workout
Tagovailoa worked out at an undisclosed location in Nashville under the direction of former NFL quarterback Trent Dilfer (which explains why Dilfer is trying to convince people Tagovailoa has a better arm than Dan Marino), according to Les Carpenter of the Washington Post.
Carpenter reported it was an hour-long workout with 55 scripted throws and 20 more in a dynamic setting. The workout tried to mimic a normal pro day. The footage of Tagovailoa throwing will go out to all 32 NFL teams, Carpenter said.
It’s not perfect, but nothing is this year. And it was smart for Tagovailoa to put something on tape for teams to watch as they debate whether Tagovailoa’s talent is worth the injury gamble.
Tagovailoa’s health is a big factor in draft
Before last season, Tagovailoa was considered a near-lock to be the first overall pick of this draft. Then Joe Burrow went nuts for LSU and Tagovailoa suffered a serious hip injury.
Burrow is now the likely pick at No. 1 and Washington Redskins coach Ron Rivera’s comments indicate he’s ready to take Ohio State defensive end Chase Young second overall. After that, who knows?
Tagovailoa could go to a team at No. 3, if the Detroit Lions trade the pick, or to a team like the Miami Dolphins or Los Angeles Chargers after that. If teams are scared off by Tagovailoa’s injuries and his weaknesses on tape, then maybe Tagovailoa falls further than expected. He’s a wild card in this draft.
What’s on the virtual pro day tape will help shape opinions of Tagovailoa. It’s quite unusual, but at least it’s creative.
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