So what gave you faith in this front office is they appeared to be going full on tank mode?
Seriously, what happens if Tua Tagovailoa decides to go back to college for another year rather than come out early? What if Jake Fromm decides to go back to college for another year? We saw Justin Herbert do the same. He decided to go back to college rather than come out in the 2019 draft class. Matt Barkley did the same. Sometimes players decide to go back to college for another year and if that happens we would have tanked for who exactly? Justin Herbert! As far as I'm concerned he is not a player to tank for.
Then there's always the possibility that these prospects don't turn out to be as good as the hype. Matt Barkley returned to college and went from a top pick contender to a mid round draft pick. Other prospects have returned to college and not improved their stock sufficiently to warrant tanking for. So while it is unlikely that Tua, Fromm or Herbert struggle and hurt their draft stock, it is at least possible that they might not be significantly better than this year's class. It all comes down to how they develop and how they project as pros.
Obviously you seem to think that tank for Tua will see this team land its superstar quarterback and answer to its Dan Marino problem, but this tanking business is risky because it doesn't bring a guarantee of success. We might get lucky and land our star like the Colts did with Andrew Luck, but equally we could end up having a high pick in a weak or lacklustre quarterback draft class. If it's a weak class what do we do, tank again? What if that's a weak class, do we tank again? Do we simply keeping tanking until we get a generational quarterback? Now that's perhaps going over the top, but this whole tank for this QB is on the basis they turn out to be as good as the hype, if they aren't that good then tanking another year is the only option unless you draft a lacklustre prospect.
Not strictly true. Fitzpatrick went 2-5 with the Buccaneers and 3-8 with the Jets. Ok he has a 10-6 season with the Jets and a few 6 win seasons with Houston and Buffalo, but that goes to show how hot and cold Fitzpatrick can be as a starter. I suspect he has been brought in as a bridge quarterback or mentor to the young quarterbacks we have on the roster (or for someone we draft). I guess he could play us out of top pick consideration, but that is no guarantee if our team is not good enough to win games and/or Fitzpatrick doesn't play like Fitzmagic.
Plus, let's not jump on the tank bandwagon in the hope that there is a generational quarterback in next year's draft class. Tua is good, so is Fromm and Herbert, but are they the next great quarterbacks or are they the next so-so quarterbacks (e.g Alex Smith)? I did see Tua compared to a higher end Alex Smith, which is fine but that's not a quarterback to tank for. Now if the draft class had Lawrence in it, someone that has been compared to Peyton Manning, fair enough. But I think tanking for the 2020 group of quarterbacks offers no guarantee that we'll find our next great quarterback. We could just as easily end up with the next Bortles or Smith.
