The closer we get to the 2020 NFL Draft, the closer Tua Tagovailoa gets to making his return to the field.

That’s exactly what Tagovailoa and his camp, along with the NFL teams interested in the former Alabama signal-caller, were hoping for when the junior declared early for the 2020 NFL Draft and with each passing update being more encouraging than the last, the lefty from Tuscaloosa appears to have cemented himself near the very top of the draft board.

Last month, Tagovailoa passed the exhaustive medical exams he underwent at the 2020 NFL Combine and according to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport, the former Alabama quarterback just passed another hurdle leading up to the draft.

“Tua Tagovailoa had his four-month scans today on his dislocated hip, and sources described them as ‘very good with no concerns.’ Essentially, as positive as possible,” Rapoport shared on Monday. “Accordingly, he’ll now begin the slow progression of activity to get his body ready for play.”

Following that update, ESPN’s Laura Rutledge shared more information on Tagovailoa’s status during a recent appearance on “Get Up,” the ESPN morning show.

“My main headline from all of this in talking to Dr. Lyle Cain, the orthopedic surgeon from Alabama, he said, ‘If you told him four months ago that the scan on Tua’s hip looked this good with no concerns, he would have been ecstatic.’ That’s how good it looks,” Rutledge said on the show. “Now, that’s where we are so that Tua can get back out there and start doing more football-related activity.

“We are talking dropping back, being able to roll out a little bit more and he’ll take a conservative approach with that. His Pro Day, April 9, is what’s coming up and the day after that, April 10th, he’ll have one more scan — that’s to look for cartilage build up in the hip, make sure everything is still okay after a month of activity that’s more football-related. That’s the last time these NFL team doctors will be able to look at Tua before the NFL Draft.”

Tua’s hip injury occurred four months ago, back on Nov. 16 during Alabama’s trip to Mississippi State. If Tagovailoa can pass his final medical test, look for him to be selected inside the top 5 once the 2020 NFL Draft rolls around.