Baltimore running back Mark Ingram appeared on ESPN’s “First Take” on Thursday to talk about Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, the NFL’s reigning MVP. But the former Alabama All-American wound up talking about two other QBs, too.

Like Jackson, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is an NFL all-star. Ingram thinks Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is destined to be one, too.

Tagovailoa is expected to be among the first players selected in the NFL Draft on April 23. Three teams among the first six in the current draft order are considered in the quarterback market – the Cincinnati Bengals at No. 1, the Miami Dolphins at No. 5 and the Los Angeles Chargers at No. 6.

But Tagovailoa suffered a season-ending hip injury in the Crimson Tide’s ninth game of the 2019 campaign. The NFL’s reaction to the coronavirus crisis, with teams closing their facilities and banning personnel from traveling, has made it difficult for draft decision-makers to get the complete picture of Tagovailoa’s health they would like.

Ingram understands why teams would put a red flag on the quarterback’s ability to stand up to the rigors of NFL play, but he thinks passing on Tagovailoa because of that concern would be a mistake.

“Obviously, injuries and availability is a huge part of being a pro and being in the NFL,” Ingram said, “so I can understand durability concerns. But I think every player has durability concerns. I just think the type of person he is, his accuracy, his accolades, the number of yards he threw for, the efficiency, even some mobility in the pocket (and) out of the pocket, I just think he has great potential to be a star in this league, and I think he will be a star in this league.

“Durability’s obviously a concern because availability is the No. 1 thing in the NFL. You’ve got to be available on Sundays, and I can understand why there is some concern with his durability, but I think he’s recovering fine, I think he’s moving good from the clips I seen earlier this week and I’m hoping a great recovery for him. I believe that he’s going to have a long, great career because I just think that’s the type of person he is, that’s the type of drive he has. I’m a Tua fan, man. I hope the best for Tua.”

TUA TAGOVAILOA SHARES FIRST VIDEOS THROWING AFTER SURGERY

Tagovailoa completed 180-of-252 passes for 2,840 yards with 33 touchdowns and three interceptions in 2019. His passing-efficiency rating of 206.9 is the best in NCAA FBS history for a player with at least 15 passes per game, breaking his record of 199.4 set in 2018. Tagovailoa’s career passing-efficiency rating of 199.4 is the best in NCAA FBS history for any player with at least 325 completions, breaking the mark of 181.3 established by Kyler Murray at Texas A&M and Oklahoma.

Mahomes had a passing-efficiency rating of 152.0 in three seasons at Texas Tech.

Mahomes entered the NFL as the 10th player picked in the 2017 NFL Draft. He played in one game as a rookie, then threw 50 touchdown passes and won the NFL MVP Award in 2018, when the Chiefs seemed to have a trip to the Super Bowl secured before a penalty changed the AFC Championship Game.

In 2019, Mahomes missed two games with an injury and his TD pass total dropped to 26. But Kansas City got to the Super Bowl this time and beat the San Francisco 49ers 31-20 to win the NFL championship.

To get where they want to be, Ingram figures the Ravens will have to beat the Chiefs in 2020.

“Pat Mahomes is the monster,” Ingram said. “He’s a special player. His leadership, his accuracy, his arm strength, he can be mobile outside the pocket – he has it all. That’s why he was the MVP two years ago and that’s why he was the Super Bowl champ and the Super Bowl MVP this year.

“We respect him, but we’re not scared of him. We know they have a great team, but we feel we have a great team. We feel like we have a great quarterback in our guy in L.J. We feel like if we do what we need to do, play the way we can play and play to our potential, we feel like we can beat anybody, so we’ve got respect for the Chiefs, defending Super Bowl champions. You know we play them next year and have to see them in the playoffs if we want to win the Super Bowl. We focus on us. We know if we play to the best of our abilities that we can beat anybody.”

Baltimore set an NFL record for single-season rushing yards and ran up the best regular-season mark in the league in 2019 at 14-2. But after a first-round bye, the Ravens fell 28-12 to the Tennessee Titans in the AFC playoffs.

“When the lights are brightest, playoffs, one-game elimination, you can’t afford to have mistakes, you can’t afford to have turnovers, you can’t afford to have lapses in your mental focus,” Ingram said, “so we’ve just got to learn from those lessons and continue the success that we had in the regular season, we’ve got to take that to the postseason. We’ve got to have that confidence, have that swagger and go and execute.

“We have the guys to do it. We have the coaching staff to do it. We have the organization to do it. We have the quarterback to do it. We’re just back at square root one preparing to have a championship run this year.”

Jackson became the second player to win The Associated Press NFL Most Valuable Player Award by a unanimous vote for his 2019 performance. Jackson had 3,127 passing yards and 36 touchdown passes with six interceptions and ran for 1,206 yards and seven touchdowns by averaging 6.9 yards per carry.

“Had a great year, and he’s only going to continue to get better,” Ingram said. “I’m just proud of him. I’m glad to be on the same team with him, in the same backfield with him, and I’m just trying to make his job easy.”

Ingram ran for 1,018 yards and 10 touchdowns on 202 carries and caught 26 passes for 247 yards and five touchdowns in his first season with the Ravens. Ingram earned his third Pro Bowl invitation in 2019. Alabama’s 2009 Heisman Trophy winner also was a Pro Bowler in 2014 and 2017 with the New Orleans Saints.

DERRICK HENRY, MARK INGRAM TALK STIFF ARMS

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @AMarkG1.

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