Report: Teams view Tua Tagovailoa as increased gamble

The coronavirus pandemic means NFL teams can’t travel freely and check out draft prospects, and that could matter at the top of the first round.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter told Get Up! on Friday that some teams are viewing Tua Tagovailoa as more of a gamble because of the lack of direct access to him and inability to closely follow his recovery from hip surgery.

“Yes, they got a look at Tua in Indianapolis, but they’d like a further evaluation and extensive look,” Schefter said, via Brad Crawford of 247Sports. “You want to be as convinced as possible, as thorough as you can get. But the NFL this year has banned players from visiting team facilities. When you’ve got a player like Tua teams want to get their hands on, they can’t do it. Teams are in a little bit more of a guessing game.

“It was always going to be something of a medical gamble with Tua and it’s an even bigger gamble at this point in time.”

By all accounts, Tagovailoa is recovering well. However, teams can’t really see this for themselves. It sounds like there’s at least some chance that could impact his draft stock, but it’s still far too soon to tell.