Speculation surrounding Tua Tagovailoa’s NFL destination started long before the Alabama quarterback declared early for the draft. Entering the 2019 season, there was talk of teams, particularly the Miami Dolphins, “tanking for Tua.” Miami did not quite “tank” for the No. 1 pick, going 5-11 on the season. Tagovailoa, of course, suffered a season-ending injury in November that raised many questions about his professional future. Despite those developments, one analyst thinks Tagovailoa will end up a Dolphin.

In his latest mock draft, NFL.com’s Chad Reuter has Miami trading with the Detroit Lions to select Tagovailoa at No. 3 overall.

“Tua wants to play in Miami and the Dolphins should want Tua’s accuracy from the pocket,” Reuter writes. “If his medical checks are satisfactory, it would not be a surprise to see Miami trade up to avoid losing the young passer to the Chargers, Panthers, Raiders or Colts.”

Tagovailoa recently shared that if he had his pick, he would chose to play for the Dallas Cowboys (though he certainly looked comfortable in Miami on the Super Bowl media circuit). Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald recently reported that Tagovailoa to the Dolphins is far from guaranteed with the club considering Oregon QB Justin Herbert:

Bottom line: Tagovailoa to the Dolphins is not a certainty. And don’t dismiss Herbert to Miami.

One source said the Dolphins are not just concerned about Tagovailoa’s return to full health from the fractured and dislocated hip he suffered last November, but also about his durability in the long-term beyond the current injury.

Come April, we’ll find out whether the Dolphins go with Tagovailoa or someone else with their first pick.