ESPN’s Booger McFarland says gap between Tua Tagovailoa and Justin Herbert is ‘astronomical’
By Adam Spencer
Published:
LSU’s Joe Burrow is expected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft this week. However, after Burrow, the No. 2 quarterback spot is up for debate.
Will it be Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa or Oregon’s Justin Herbert? Normally, this wouldn’t be a discussion, but Tua’s injury history has some teams and analysts concerned.
Don’t count ESPN’s Booger McFarland as one of the confused, though. This week, Booger said he thinks Tagovailoa is the much better quarterback (via 247Sports):
“Tua’s a young guy. He’s going to get hurt,” McFarland said this week on ESPN. “It’s part of the game. Look at all the quarterbacks in the National Football League. They’ve been hurt. They’re gonna get hurt. It’s just about how you recover and can you prevent some of those injuries. And for people to say ‘I’m going to take Justin Herbert over Tua Tagovailoa,’ the gap between those two, to me, is astronomical. It’s like an ocean.
“Tua is much better at all the things it takes to play the quarterback position. And I get it. Herbert has the ideal size, he’s big, he’s mobile. But when you talk about being able to lead a team and do what the quarterback requires to be done for your football team – throw it accurately, make good decisions, take care of the football, the ability to anticipate throws – Tua Tagovailoa does that better than almost anyone except Joe Burrow in this draft. And if you’re taking Herbert before him, you’re making a huge mistake.”
Will NFL teams feel the same way about Tagovailoa over Herbert? We’ll find out on Thursday!
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
