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Say what? Mel Kiper Jr. thinks Redskins should take Tua Tagovailoa over Chase Young

Dustin Schutte

By Dustin Schutte

Published:

Since the end of the college football season, there’s been a consensus that former Ohio State defensive end Chase Young would be the second overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. But ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. would go a different way if he was in charge of the Washington Redskins.

Though Young is regarded by several analysts to be the best prospect in this class, the quarterback position is the league’s most important. And because of that, Kiper thinks the Redskins should take Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa over Young.

“You can have all the Chase Youngs you want,” Kiper said on ESPN’s First Take, “but if you don’t have a quarterback you’re spinning your wheels. This is a quarterback league all the way. What was the difference in the Super Bowl? [Patrick] Mahomes and [Jimmy] Garoppolo late in that game. Fourth quarter, Garoppolo didn’t get it done, he’s a good quarterback, he’s not great. Patrick Mahomes is great. He didn’t have a good game but he had a really good finish. And that’s all that matters.

“I think you look at Tua if the medical staff clears him. And this is the leap of faith you have to take. The medical staff is gonna be key to this, more so than the evaluators. If they sign off, you take Tua at No. 2. There’s no doubt about that.”

Kiper’s take is particularly interesting because, last season, the Redskins drafted former Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins in the first round. It would be interesting if Washington went with a first-round quarterback in back-to-back seasons.

It wasn’t a shot at Young’s capability, but more the importance of quarterback in the NFL.

Dustin Schutte

Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB