Schefter: Tua 'Very Likely' Drafted No. 1 over Joe Burrow Without Hip Injury

What could have been. 

Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suffered a dislocated hip on Nov. 16, and ESPN's Adam Schefter believes the season-ending injury cost the 2018 Heisman Trophy finalist the No. 1 spot in the 2020 NFL draft. 

"If he didn't hurt his hip, I think he very likely would have been the No. 1 pick," Schefter told ESPN's Get Up Wednesday morning. "But there is the medical question mark there, and I think people feel fairly comfortable about it, but again, there's no clarity." 

Schefter continued, "You know that every team that's serious about Tua will put him through an extensive medical test and then get an idea." 

Tagovailoa's setback coincided with reigning Heisman winner and LSU quarterback Joe Burrow taking the nation by storm. Burrow set multiple records en route to leading the Tigers to an undefeated season capped by the College Football Playoff national championship. 

Burrow is widely expected to go No. 1 overall to the Cincinnati Bengals, while Schefter noted "without question in my mind" Tagovailoa will still be a top-five or top-six pick in the draft.

Tagovailoa was on pace in 2019 to surpass his career-best marks from 2018 prior to his hip injury. The 21-year-old threw for 3,966 yards, 43 touchdowns and six interceptions on 69.0 percent completion across 15 games during the 2018-19 campaign. He followed that up with 2,840 yards, 33 yards and three picks on 71.4 percent completion across nine 2019-20 games. 

Tagovailoa underwent surgery for a high ankle sprain in October before dislocating his hip, and the Hawaii native had also suffered a high ankle sprain during the 2018 SEC Championship Game.

The Miami Herald's Armando Salguero reported last week that Tagovailoa would prefer to go to the Miami Dolphins, who own the No. 5 overall pick, rather than to the Detroit Lions at No. 3 overall. 

"Sources close to Tagovailoas say the Alabama quarterback would love for the Dolphins to trade up to No. 3 to select him," Salguero wrote. "Those same sources say they don't love the idea of Detroit actually picking Tua because of the arc of that team's current coaching situation."

Salguero added more context: 

"The Lions will be playing their third season under Matt Patricia in 2020. He has a 9-22-1 record his first two seasons and the Tagovailoas are concerned another poor season could force the Lions to fire Patricia— putting the quarterback in the uncertain 2021 situation of being a draft pick the new coach didn't make.

"And this: The Tagovailoas would love to come to the Dolphins.

"They love the weather. They love the region. They love the idea of trying to be answer for a team long searching for an elite quarterback."

The Dolphins last spent a first-round choice on a quarterback in 2012 when they took Ryan Tannehill eighth overall. Before that, Miami hadn't drafted a first-round quarterback since taking Hall of Famer Dan Marino at No. 27 overall in 1983.