The NFL regular season and postseason only lasts from September to February, but as far as the media cycle is concerned around the league, it’s a constant circus. For example: Odds have already been released for who will be picked first overall in next year’s NFL Draft, this despite the draft being almost a year away.
According to the top football betting sites, Tua Tagvailoa is the favorite to be chosen first with +200 odds, followed by Justin Herbert at +350, Jake Fromm with +400 odds, and Chase Young and Derrick Brown tied in fourth with +700 odds. Jerry Jeudy ends the odds-makers’ lists in fifth at +900.
During the 2018-19 College Football Playoff semifinal, Tagovailoa would come into the game for Alabama to help the Crimson Tide secure the championship berth over Georgia, 26-23, in overtime. He would do this after replacing Jalen Hurts in the starting quarterback position. But don’t let him coming off of the bench fool you, Tagovailoa had an incredible season.
He may have lost the Heisman Trophy and Alabama may have lost the title game, but he would have certainly deserved it if he did win. Tagovailoa threw for a blazing 3,966 passing yards and would also have a whopping 43 touchdowns to his tally — he would only throw six interceptions total. When you put up numbers like that, you certainly have to be in the discussion to be the top pick in the draft.
We still have plenty of time until the 2020 NFL Draft, so there’s a lot that can change between now and then. As of right now, however, it would be an absolute surprise to see Tagovailoa not get selected at least early in the draft — we still don’t know team needs are for 2020, so teams may not need a quarterback and pass on the Alabama stud. Tagovailoa is also a Heisman favorite for the next year in the odds, tied alongside Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence. This is another reason why you would think he would at least be guaranteed a top three pick. As far as the national championship for next season is concerned, Alabama is the second favorite to win the title at +230, only behind Clemson.
If Tagovailoa does fail to land himself as the No. 1 overall pick, Oregon’s quarterback Justin Herbert is the one to most likely overtake that position. Herbert was expected to enter the 2019 NFL Draft, but would decide to go back to Oregon for his senior season. The Duck would shock people around the NCAA, but all this may do is improve his draft stock to land himself in first.
Considered by many as a future franchise quarterback, Herbert would light up the stat sheet last season with a total of 3,151 passing yards and he would also throw for 29 touchdowns. He’s also full of power and durability, standing at six-foot-six and weighing like a hoss at 240 pounds. And not just that, but his power comes along with speed and his right arm is full of strength as well. If Herbert does fail to land in the No. 1 overall pick, he’ll be a sure thing to land in the early part of the draft — there’s never a shortage of teams in the NFL who need a quarterback.
Tua Tagovailoa’s career would begin as a success story straight out of Saint Louis School in Honolulu, Hawaii, becoming a five-star recruit by 247 Sports, and also receiving four stars by Scout, Rivals and ESPN — he would also receive an 85 grade from ESPN. Overall, he would be ranked the third overall player by Rivals, and would receive the top spot from both 247Sports and ESPN. In his senior season, he would throw for 2,669 passing yards and compile 27 touchdowns, which would see him play in the All-American bowl game and was also apart of the Elite 11 — he was also named MVP of that roster. It would eventually lead him to 17 college scholarships from major universities where he would eventually commit to the University of Alabama.
All of his combined awards in high school would be the: 2014 Semper Fidelis Player of the Year, 2016 Nike’s “The Opening” MVP, 2016 Jr Prep Sports Paradise Football Classic MVP, 2017 U.S. Army All-America Bowl, Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge, 2016 Elite 11 MVP, 2016 Gatorade State Player of the Year (Hawaii), PrepStar Top 150 Dream Team, 2016 HHSAA District 1 State Championship, KOHN2’s Cover2 Kaulukukui Award, KOHN2 Cover2 Mariota Award.
In Tagovailoa’s first season with the Crimson Tide, he would play eight games that would see him throw for 636 yards with 11 touchdowns, throwing for just two interceptions. Not a bad eight games that would see him land a 175.0 RTG. He would also rush for 133 yards and two touchdowns. Things would really get cracking for Tagovailoa in the 2018 campaign, playing 15 games as the starting quarterback for Alabama. Last season, he would tally 3,966 passing yards and would eclipse the 40-mark in touchdowns with 43. If those numbers aren’t incredible enough, he would also add six interceptions on the stat sheet. Tagovailoa would also add a little more effectiveness for the Tide as well, rushing for 190 yards and punching in five touchdowns.
All of his combined awards in college so far are:
If that’s enough, he’s broke several records — both in the SEC Conference and at the University of Alabama. In the SEC, he currently holds the records for: Passer efficiency rating in a season (which also happens to be an FBS record), passing yards per attempt in a season, total yards per play in a season, most passing touchdowns in a season, single-season passing yardage. At Alabama, he holds the records for: Total touchdowns in a season, total touchdowns in a game, most 4-touchdown games in a season, most 300-yard passing games in a season.
Now if all of this isn’t enough to land you the top spot in the NFL Draft, then I don’t know what is. Tua Tagovailoa had a near-perfect season in 2018, and he’ll most likely do even better in 2019 — including getting over the 4,000-mark in passing yards. He’s already hit over 40 touchdowns in the season. A quarterback like this will certainly be in high demand.
Attending Sheldon High School in Eugene, Oregon, Justin Herbert was a pure athlete playing all three sports of varsity football, basketball, and baseball. In his senior year of football, he would calculate 3,130 yards and would also throw for 37 touchdowns. In the rushing game, he would add 543 rushing yards and also punch in 10 touchdowns. While in high school, he would be named 1st Team All-State and the Southwest Conference Offensive Player of the Year.
Some side factoids: With Herbert growing up in Eugene, he would only live 10 minutes from Autzen Stadium and has been a fan of Oregon football his entire life. His grandfather, Rich Schwab, would also play wide receiver while attending Oregon in the 1960’s. Also, he would only receive two scholarship offers from FBS schools — fortunately for him, the University of Oregon would be of those colleges.
Throughout Herbert’s college career, it’s been a steady improvement every year from his freshman season to his junior season. In his first year in 2016, the team would go 2-6, but he would do that in eight games with 1,936 passing yards and 19 touchdowns — he’d only throw four interceptions. Next year in his sophomore season, he would improve his team from a 2-6 record to 6-2, and would throw for 1,983 yards and 15 touchdowns. He would only tally five interceptions in that season. In his junior year in 2018, that’s when things would really pop off for Herbert and what has put him second in the odds. He put up 3,151 passing yards, 29 touchdowns and eight interceptions en route to 9-4 record. In those three years, he would rush for 510 yards and punch in nine scores.
As you see, Herbert isn’t as elite as Tua Tagovailo, but he’s still a pretty great quarterback. With both Herbert and Tagovailo, it’ll be interesting to see if Herbert can surpass Tagovailo in production for the top spot in the odds and in the draft. I don’t see that happening due to Tagovailo being a lot more potent and with a Nick Saban-led Alabama offense, but I do see another season of more improvement for Herbert.
Jake Fromm has had a pretty successful athletic career since a kid, beginning with the sport of baseball that would see him in the Little League World Series — his team would fall just two games short of reaching the championship game. Fromm would get accustomed to huge crowds at a young age, playing in front of 30,000 people in certain games. And not just that, but he was also statistically one of the best players in the tournament: He would tally three home runs, eights runs, and would also have 11 strikeouts as a pitcher.
When Fromm got older, he would then attend Houston City High School in Warner Robins, Georgia, where he would play football. Throughout his career, he would put up a total of 12,745 passing yards and 116 touchdowns — just incredible numbers for a high school quarterback. He would be rated a five-star recruit by Rivals.com, and he’d also receive a five star from Scout.com. Originally committing to the University of Alabama, he would then change his path towards the direction of the University of Georgia — staying in his home state. His high school success would lead to his senior season being documented on QB1: Beyond the Lights, a web-series. He would be documented alongside Tate Martell (Ohio State commit) and Tayvon Bowers (Wake Forest commit).
When Fromm’s college days began, he would get things started off right away in his freshman season tallying 2,615 passing yards and 24 touchdowns — he’d also only throw seven interceptions. In total, his QBR would come up to 160.1. That year would eventually lead Georgia to a No. 1 ranking and they would also win the 2017 SEC Championship. He’d also be named the co-newcomer of the year by the Associated Press. He would eventually land his Bulldogs in the College Football Playoff National Championship, but would lose to Alabama, 23-26.
In the next season, his most recent, Herbert would then improve himself up to 2,761 passing yards and he would also throw for 30 touchdowns. He would also bring his interception figure down to six. His QBR would also improve to 171.3. They would fall to Texas in a Sugar Bowl berth.
Jake Fromm may not be an elite of a quarterback as Tua Tagovailoa, but his numbers are still tremendously effective, and more importantly, he knows how to win. And here’s another thing: Fromm will be entering just his junior season in 2019. So much potential is there for Fromm, and the sky is the limit as his career continues. Look for a possible explosive season from Fromm in 2019, and if it happens, he could very well be the top pick of the 2020 NFL Draft.
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