TUA DECLARES — SHOULD THE JAGS POUNCE?

Dannie Walls/Icon Sportswire

Tua declared for the Draft on Monday. Should the Jags be interested?

BY JORDAN DE LUGO

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Tua Tagovialoa has declared for the 2020 NFL Draft.

On Monday at noon, Alabama's star QB held a press conference to announce his decision. The nation tuned in to hear what Tua's — who is recovering from a hip injury — future would be. 

Now that Tua has declared for the draft, NFL teams must figure out if they trust his hip will recover properly. Even with the uncertainty regarding his health, I firmly believe Tua will be taken in the top half of the first-round and likely in the top five.

The question for the Jaguars and their fans is: Should Dave Caldwell and Doug Marrone consider adding the QB with the ninth overall pick, should he be available?

Anytime there is a potential franchise quarterback on the board — and make no mistake about it, that's exactly what Tua is — a given front office has to consider selecting him. 

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There are a ton of moving parts when it comes to the NFL Draft, but If he's available at nine, I would strongly consider taking Tua if I were the Jaguars. Ensuring that the QB position is an area of strength should be the number one goal for any front office. Adding Tua to the mix with Gardner Minshew would give the Jaguars an extremely high probability of having above-average QB play for years to come (didn't include Nick Foles there because he likely won't around in Jax for too long). 

But the truth is that the Jaguars likely won't consider drafting Tua, even if he's on the board at nine. This regime has been headstrong to a fault when it comes to QBs. They stuck with Bortles for far too long. And they don't have a track record of trying to improve the QB position via the draft. Outside of Blake Bortles, the Jaguars' current regime hasn't used a selection higher than the sixth round on a QB. 

Don't get me wrong: I'm absolutely in favor of Minshew starting in 2020. But I'm also a fan of giving your club every advantage when it comes to QB play. Drafting Tua would give the Jaguars a backup plan at QB if Minshew doesn't end up being a franchise guy. And if Minshew does develop into a franchise QB, then the Jaguars could trade Tua for some big-time draft capital down the road. 

Either way, the Jaguars have a monumental opportunity to reverse their fortunes in the upcoming 2020 NFL Draft. Their two first-round selections will significantly impact whether or not this club stays in the cellar or takes positive strides moving forward. Will Caldwell and Marrone get it right?

Follow Jordan on Twitter for all the latest Jaguars news and analysis. ​