Los Angeles Chargers 2020 NFL Draft early prediction: Tua Tagovailoa

The 2019 NFL regular season is officially in the books and for the Los Angeles Chargers, it is time to turn to the draft and the future of the quarterback position.

This upcoming offseason is perhaps the most important in recent Los Angeles Chargers history. After going 5-11 in 2019, the Chargers have the most important question that a team has to answer: what is the future of the quarterback position?

Philip Rivers is a free agent and it would not be all that surprising if his tenure as quarterback in Los Angeles is over. Rivers underperformed behind an awful offensive line this season and while he still has something left in the tank, it may just be best for both parties to move on from each other.

Even if Rivers is the starting quarterback for the Chargers next year it will not be on a long-term deal. Instead, it should be in a mentor role with Rivers mentoring the future franchise quarterback of the Chargers.

More from LA Sports Hub

Either way, the Chargers go, the team has a lot of talent around the quarterback position. The defense is solid when it is at full strength and the offense has several playmakers. Heck, this season should have been much better than it was and would have been if it was not for constant mistakes by the Bolts.

If the Chargers do turn to the 2020 NFL Draft for a quarterback, which they absolutely should, they have to make the perfect selection. The team has the sixth overall selection in the 2020 NFL Draft, so there are going to be some great quarterbacks available.

Who do we think — or at least hope — that the Chargers draft? He is quite the household name already: Tua Tagovailoa.

The case for Tua Tagovailoa:

Heading into the 2019 college football season, Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was considered to be the frontrunner to be the first-overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. However, that honor now goes to Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow, with Tua’s stocl falling slightly.

The reason being Tua’s hip injury in mid-November. He dislocated his hip and fractured the posterior wall. While hip injuries are scary and immediate comparisons turned to Bo Jackson, all signs indicate that Tua will make a full recovery and be ready for his rookie season without any hindrances in his athleticism.

Tua could return to Alabama for his senior season but he did tell ESPN that it would be hard for him to pass up the NFL Draft if he was still considered a top draft prospect that goes in the first half of the first round.

According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, Tua is still projected to go in the first round, with one executive expecting him to go anywhere in the 10-12 range. I think that Tua will end up declaring and that six is the perfect place to take him.

There are only two teams ahead of the Los Angeles Chargers in the draft order that will likely take a quarterback — the Cincinnati Bengals and Miami Dolphins. The Washington Redskins just took Dwayne Haskins last year, the Detroit Lions have Matthew Stafford and the New York Giants just selected Daniel Jones.

We know that the Bengals are most likely going to select Burrow, which dwindles things down to the Dolphins. The Chargers could absolutely trade up to the third or fourth overall pick if need-be, but because of Tua’s injury, the Dolphins will go a different route.

Miami will (hopefully) go with Justin Herbert of Oregon, leaving way for the Los Angeles Chargers to take Tua. Tua is good enough to be the Chargers’ starting quarterback in 2020, however, the tea also presents a perfect opportunity for Tua to rest a year to learn and fully recover if the Chargers bring Rivers back or bring in some other veteran quarterback for one season.

Next. Why the Dodgers' rotation will be just fine. dark

And from there, Tua would take over the responsibilities of being the Los Angeles Chargers franchise quarterback, and hopefully, bring in a new era of winning to the franchise.

Home/Los Angeles Chargers