NFL Rumors: Patriots Doing 'Due Diligence' on Tua Tagovailoa. Could They Pounce if He Falls?

"You can rest assured, if he gets into the middle of the first round and you’re sitting there at No. 23, wouldn’t you jump up and maybe get him?"

Two of the biggest names that have been brought up in connection ahead of the 2020 NFL Draft are Tua Tagovailoa and the New England Patriots. 

With a checkered past because of injuries, there is much speculation that Alabama's star-studded quarterback could slip down the board when the draft is underway this Thursday. That means there may be an opportunity for a team to draft him that previously wasn't even in the hunt for Tagovailoa. If that's the case, then the Patriots - who are in need of a starting QB - could be in play if Tagovailoa finds himself falling on draft day. And as ESPN Draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. told WEEI's "OMF" late last week, New England is doing their due diligence on the player that was coached by a longtime friend of Bill Belichick.

“It’s going to be the million dollar question," Kiper said when asked where he believes Tagovailoa will be drafted. "That’s the whole intrigue and the element of the draft that you just can’t figure is these types of things. You hear people, and I know everyone is screaming that Tua has to go high, you have to take that risk. And then you hear people in the league saying he could fall and everybody is doing their due diligence, including the Patriots. You can rest assured, if he gets into the middle of the first round and you’re sitting there at No. 23, wouldn’t you jump up and maybe get him? You know the connection with Bill Belichick and Nick Saban. And I know how Nick feels about Tua.

"If you go from Tom Brady to Tua, a healthy Tua. Now, that is the thing - can you keep him healthy? People say, ‘Well, everybody gets hurt.’ Quarterbacks don’t get hurt. Brady had the one injury when (Matt) Cassel came in. (Dan) Marino had the Achilles one year. Most of these quarterbacks, Eli (Manning) played forever, (Philip) Rivers, (John) Elway, (Jim) Kelly, when do these guys get hurt? The quarterbacks, when do they get hurt? This guy has had significant injuries, so to me, if he starts slipping a little bit, sliding down, where it happened with Aaron Rodgers not that long ago, and he was projected to be No. 1 two weeks before that draft and he went in the 20s, yes, if it did happen, I would think New England would be aggressive to try and go up and get him.”

Bill Belichick drafts by value, especially in the first round. Whether its a quarterback, linebacker, safety, wide receiver or offensive tackle that he selects in the first round this year remains to be seen. But what we don't see Belichick do very often is trade up in the first round in order to acquire value on the draft board. 

However, as Kiper mentions, if Tagovailoa begins to slip into the middle part of the first round, he - depending on how much stock you put into Tagovailoa's injury history - becomes an immense value, even if it means trading multiple drafts picks in order to move up and get him. So if the Patriots have Tagovailoa very high on their draft board, then moving up to acquire the Alabama QB could be something they try to do. 

With just a matter of days before the 2020 NFL Draft begins on its first ever virtual landscape, we know the Patriots reportedly intend on selecting a quarterback at some point in the draft. But unlike most years, the range as to where they might draft one seems to stretch all the way from the middle of Day 1 until the end of Day 3. That uncertainty makes this years draft for New England not just important, but exciting for those watching.