Each SDS roundtable discussion involves the SDS staff providing individual answers and comments to questions covering a wide range of sports and non-sports topics. In this discussion, we ask the question: Knowing his injury history, if you had a top 10 pick, would you select Tua Tagovailoa?

Previous roundtable discussions:

A bit of background …

Tua Tagovailoa, statistically, is the greatest QB in Alabama history. He authored the greatest throw in college football history, beating Georgia on a walk-off TD in the 2017 national title game. He’s video-game accurate and can attack every level of a defense, sideline to sideline. Laser to lob, there isn’t a throw he can’t make. The only thing he hasn’t been able to do is stay healthy, and now he’s coming off his most serious injury to date.

NFL GMs overvalue QBs more than any other position. That’s one reason there are so many high-profile misses. Nobody questions Tagovailoa’s talent. It’s generational. But will the medical chart scare teams away from taking him in the top 10?

Would we take him in the top 10? That’s a question we’ve been debating for months.

Jon Cooper, SDS co-founder

This is an easy one — yes. Tua Tagovailoa is the most talented quarterback in the NFL Draft. Yes, Joe Burrow was the best college football player in 2019 … by far; however, Tagovailoa is the most talented player at the position.

Yes, the injuries concern me. It also concerns me that he had arguably the best slate of receivers in college football in Jerry Jeudy, Henry Ruggs, DeVonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle. A few teams reportedly have taken Tagovailoa off the board, meaning he’s too injury-prone to be a top 10 pick, but it just takes one team. That would be my team.

I wouldn’t hesitate to take Tagovailoa in the top 10. You know exactly what you’re getting — very accurate passer, team player, ultimate competitor, leader and no off-the-field trouble. He’s simply too good not to risk a top 10 pick on.

Connor O’Gara, Senior national columnist

Yes, yes and yes.

I say that while also believing he’s a massive risk because the injury concern is real, no matter what random, non-contact videos suggest. He’s that good. The guy ended his career as one of the most efficient quarterbacks we’ve ever seen in college, and he can make any throw, any time. No, he doesn’t have a Josh Allen or Jacob Eason arm, but the talent is still off the charts.

For what it’s worth, I think all of this buzz about him slipping out of the top 10 is a smokescreen. I don’t think anything that happened during the pre-draft process legitimately hurt his draft stock. He’s an ideal person to build a franchise around that makes a team like the Dolphins an obvious suitor.

I’ll be stunned if Tagovailoa gets past No. 5 overall. All the talk about the Wonderlic score and getting pulled off draft boards feels like smokescreen after smokescreen. It all sounds a little too fishy. Forgive me for that awful pun.

Chris Marler, The SDS Podcast co-host

Tua started 24 games at Alabama. He finished his career ranked in the Top 10 All-Time for SEC QBs in Pass TD (87), Total TDs (96), Yards Per Attempt (10.9), and Passer Efficiency Rating (199.4) which was not only the best in conference history but also the best in NCAA history. He did all of that while only throwing 41 passes in the 4th quarter during his entire career. He lost 2 games as a starter, and those 2 teams were not only national champions but considered to be one of, if not, the best team(s) in CFB history.

In November, people said he might not ever walk the same ever again, let alone play football. So you can say whatever you want about being injury prone or that he was only good because of the talent around him or whatever else to make you feel better about your team probably losing to him. Regardless, you’d want him on your team and you’d definitely spend a top 10 pick on him. Trent Richardson was a top 10 pick, y’all.

Michael Bratton, News editor

Maybe if I were the team owner, but not if I’m just a team employee. Owners can’t fire themselves.

We’ve seen enough of Tua Tagovailoa to know there’s a very high probability that his body won’t hold up in the NFL. More games, bigger defenders and the harder hits will take their toll. Tua even found a way to get hurt in spring practice while at Alabama.

To his credit, it appears there might not be a player that attacks rehab the way Tagovailoa does, but there probably isn’t a player with as much experience doing so over the past 2 years, either.

Tua has the talent, no doubt, but availability is the most valuable trait the NFL looks for in a player. Drafting the next RGIII or Andrew Luck will get you fired quickly in the NFL.

Plus, if your team really does need a quarterback, next year’s draft appears to have some better options. I’d wait it out given all we know about Tua’s injury history.

Adam Spencer, Newsletter editor

Absolutely. I’d draft him with a top 3 pick. I think Tua will be taken No. 3 overall, but not by the Detroit Lions (who hold that pick). Yes, there are concerns about his durability, but undersized guys like Drew Brees and Russell Wilson (not to mention Kyler Murray) are some of the best quarterbacks in the NFL.

If a team like the Dolphins pass on Tua at No. 5 and then watch him go on to make multiple Pro Bowls and perhaps even win a Super Bowl, fans in Miami will be irate. I think either the Dolphins or the Los Angeles Chargers will have to move up to No. 3 to get the Alabama star.

I’d take him No. 3 and never look back. If he’d stayed healthy this year, there’s a good chance he’d at least be in the running with Joe Burrow to be the No. 1 pick.

Chris Wright, Executive editor

The best ability is availability.

I love everything about Tua Tagovailoa’s playing ability. Heck, I’m the guy who started writing 4 games into his freshman season that Nick Saban should use him as a pinch-passer in 2-minute situations. That’s how special I think that left arm is.

But it’s impossible to ignore his injury history. It’s borderline irresponsible to think he’s suddenly going to become healthier in the NFL. This isn’t flag football.

Teams with a top 10 pick usually have glaring holes in the trenches.

If I had a top 10 pick, I’d pass on Tagovailoa. Not for another quarterback, but for an every-down impact starter I can count on for the next 7 years.

In the past 10 drafts, 20 QBs have been top 10 picks. Only 4 have been to multiple Pro Bowls — and that list includes Andrew Luck, who led the way with 4 appearances before he retired because of injuries.

Only 4 are 10 games over .500 as a starter. Luck led that list, too. He was 20 games over (53-33). Only 1 — Patrick Mahomes — has won a Super Bowl, though Cam Newton got there.

Point being, there are a lot of swings and misses at this position even under the best circumstances. Tua’s health is far less than that.