Kiper Confusingly Weighs In on No. 2 & Tua

The Redskins hold on the No. 2 spot in the draft is beyond interesting. A lot of speculation. A bunch of questions will go unanswered.

Mel Kiper Jr. of ESPN fame is a respected draft analyst but just because you are held in high regard doesn't mean you're always right or consistent.

On Thursday - Kiper's message in a couple of different interviews was this:

Mel Kiper just now on ESPN:

"You can have all the Chase Young's you want, if you don't have the quarterback you're spinning your wheels... You take Tua at 2. No doubt about that... If Haskins turns out to be better than trade Tua. Let them battle it, see who the best man is."
— Grant Paulsen (@granthpaulsen) February 27, 2020

Wait - take Tua and then trade him after a quarterback battle between he & Dwayne Haskins? Huhhhhhhhh? Are you serious, Mel?

Then you have this from a month ago.

2020 Mock Draft 1.0: https://t.co/NZGhHyChP2
— Mel Kiper Jr. (@MelKiperESPN) January 24, 2020

The key phrase in Kiper's first mock draft is this: "And yet, the Redskins absolutely can't pass on Young -- unless they get bowled over with an offer from a team trading up."

Thursday on First Take - ESPN's scripted argument show - Kiper said this:

"If the medical staff clears him ... you take Tua at No. 2. There's no doubt about that."@MelKiperESPN thinks the Redskins should draft Tua over Chase Young 👀 pic.twitter.com/dxhFmaBBmx
— First Take (@FirstTake) February 27, 2020

He's being consistent for one day at least and yes, opinions can change over time, but it's interesting how adamant Kiper was about the Redskins doing two totally different things in a month's time.

It's one or the other. Right? And even the first argument, makes zero sense.

The other confusing thing is this: How are we still stuck in this "If the medical staff clears him ..you take Tua at No. 2." thought process?

NO! You don't. For two reasons - he might not be better than Dwayne Haskins.

The most important reason is this and one that all of the draft and NFL guru's are missing out on.

Tagovailoa has had hip fracture surgery and two different ankle injuries at Alabama.

He also had a finger injury that required surgery, a knee sprain along with a quad injury.

After that - it was an ankle injury in the 2018 SEC Championship game before a high ankle sprain in October of last year, which required surgery.

Oh and then the hip surgery. I lost count. That's SIX injuries by my count before even taking one practice snap in the NFL.

In a league where NFL teams cannot afford in any way to have an injury prone quarterback - this is the most absurd claim by Kiper if we're being totally candid.

How can anybody trust that just because Tagovailoa gets cleared in March to do his pro day - that he's not going to constantly be banged up in the NFL?

There's no chance I would take him if I was the Redskins at No. 2. ZERO. NONE. I'd be completely stunned if he ever plays 16 or 17 games in the NFL during a season.

He had six college injuries at Ala-freaking-Bama!

No thanks.

Chris Russell is the Publisher of RedskinsReport.com & Sports Illustrated's Washington Redskins channel. He can be heard on 106.7 The FAN in the Washington D.C. area and world-wide on Radio.com. Chris also hosts the "Locked on Redskins" Podcast and can be read via subscription to Warpath Magazine. You can e-mail Chris at russellmania09@Gmail.com or follow him on Twitter at @Russellmania621.

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