Tua Tagovailoa Declaring For NFL Draft is Great News For the New York Giants

If you're trying to figure out who the biggest winners and losers are with Tua Tagovailoa declaring for the draft, the answers are clear.

Alabama is the biggest loser and the New York Giants are the biggest winner. No, not because the Giants are going to draft Tua. They already have their quarterback of the future in Daniel Jones. It's because the Giants are now the gateway to drafting Tua and hold all the leverage.

The three teams ahead of the Giants, who are slated to pick fourth in the 2020 NFL Draft, are the Bengals, Redskins and Lions, in that order. None of them are picking Tua, but the teams behind the Giants certainly are interested.

The Bengals are picking LSU QB Joe Burrow. He's not only been the best QB in college this year and looked like a potentially transcendent star, he's also an Ohio guy who is beloved in the community. That pick is locked unless something catastrophic happens between now and then.

The Redskins will likely pick Chase Young. He's the most talented pass rusher to come out in years and the Redskins won't want to miss the opportunity to pick him, especially considering they used a first-rounder on a QB in Dwayne Haskins last season.

The idea of the Lions drafting Tua and stashing him for a year behind Matt Stafford is interesting, but that entire staff is in win-now mode. They can't afford to hold on to Tua for a future regime to reap the rewards. Who they pick is anyone's guess, but the fact is it won't be Tua. Perhaps they trade back, but again, they're in win-now mode, so they'll likely pick the best player available.

That puts the New York Giants on the clock. With Daniel Jones entrenched as their starting QB, they, too, aren't picking Tua. But with massive holes for the team to fill across the board, they also need picks and not one player who may or may not pan out. That leaves them as the first team that has a real need to trade back and many teams, including the team right behind them, will know other QB-hungry teams will be making calls to trade up.

The Dolphins, Chargers, and Panthers pick behind the Giants in that order. All three of those teams need a young quarterback to develop and all three of them would, theoretically, be interested in Tua. The Dolphins have long been linked to Tua, even before the season when most predicted he would be picked No. 1 and the Dolphins would draft No. 1, and it's hard to envision Tua falling below them in the draft. But if the Dolphins sense a team is moving up ahead of them to pick Tua, would they then get on the phone with the Giants to snag their man?

Regardless of who makes the move, the Giants stand to benefit most. They need more picks, the teams behind them want Tua and the only way to assuredly get him is to trade up and give the Giants what they want. Sure, the Redskins or Lions could also trade back-- but the odds aren't nearly as high on them as it is the Giants, just based on their needs and the players available. So Giants fans should thank Tua for declaring, even if he never plays a down for them in his career.