Kansas City Chiefs Should Pass On QB Ryan Tannehill In The 2012 NFL Draft
There are rumors floating around that the Kansas City Chiefs may use their first round pick—11th overall—in the 2012 NFL draft to select Texas A&M quarterback Ryan Tannehill. That would be a mistake.
The biggest reason it would be mistake is that Tannehill simply does not justify a selection in the first round—I’d take it a step further and say he shouldn’t go anywhere in the first round, but in a climate where he’s one of the late love affairs scouts are having, that seems to be a wasted cause. ESPN now ranks him as the eighth-best player overall, with the question surrounding Kansas City being whether they should trade up to ensure they get him.
But a review of the scouting report (from ESPN Insiders) and of Tannehill’s track record don’t justify this. Scouts express concern over Tannehill’s small hands, his inaccuracy on the long ball, his tendency to force throws when protection breaks down and whether the fact his college team blew several leads last season means there might be a leadership issue. I’d go to bat for the quarterback on the last point—Texas A&M’s defense was an absolute sieve a year ago and that wasn’t going to change if you replaced Tannehill with a young Joe Montana. The rest of the critique though? It’s not sounding like first-round material to me.
The scouting concern is backed up by Tannehill’s on-field results. He threw 15 interceptions last year. Given how often A&M had to pass, that alone might be forgiven, but he threw three picks per game against Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas—only the three biggest games on the Aggie schedule in 2011.
It’s that Tannehill doesn’t have real strengths. He throws an accurate ball in the short and intermediate areas, he’s got experience in a pro-style system playing under a former NFL coach in Mike Sherman who took several Green Bay Packer teams to the playoffs. Tannehill is respected by coaches and players for a team-first attitude.
The question is whether Tannehill’s strengths shout high first round. When I see a quarterback who’s a tough kid, with a good medium-range route, but some issues with interceptions and lacking some physical tools, I see a project and a career backup, not the 11th pick overall. That’s why Kansas City general manager Scott Pioli should steer clear of Tannehill and especially of the notion of trading upward to get him.
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[...] Kansas City Chiefs Should Pass On QB Ryan Tannehill In The 2012 NFL DraftRant Sportsby danflaherty There are rumors floating around that the Kansas City Chiefs may use their first round pick—11 th overall—in the 2012 NFL draft to select Texas A&M quarterback Ryan Tannehill. That would be a mistake. The biggest reason it would be …Ryan Tannehill, The Alternate Route, And “Moneyball”: How To Fix The Chiefs In …Arrowhead AddictIrsay: Want Tannehill? Better call ZygiCBSSports.com (blog)all 48 news articles » [...]
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