Ryan Tannehill to Seattle?
By Matt Church
There’s Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III. Those are the two most spoken-about quarterbacks entering the 2012 draft. Who comes next?
Enter Ryan Tannehill, the 6-3, 221 lb. quarterback from Texas A&M who has only started 20 college games as a quarterback in his career. There are many quarterback-hungry teams that have been moving Tannehill up on their draft boards. Tannehill is in a good position; he has many teams interviewing him and getting ready for his pro-day workout at the end of March.
“I want to be a starter,” Tannehill said on Friday. “I have high expectations.”
After suffering a broken ankle in January, he was not able to play at the Senior Bowl or work out at the Combine. With so little games played at quarterback, there’s limited game tape and many critics speculate that he has not had enough time to work on reading defenses.
Tannehill is admired for his arm strength in and out of the pocket, as well as his mobility to scramble away from defenders and his confidence throwing on the run. Tannehill also has been coached by former Aggies head coach Mike Sherman, who taught him to play in an NFL-style offense. Sherman is now the current offensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins, making them another possible location for Tannehill next fall. Some mock drafts even have him going as high as 6th overall to the Redskins, who are also in desperate need for a quarterback. It is obviously known that quarterbacks chosen early in the first round are typically going to be starting.
So where does Seattle come into the picture? Currently the Seahawks are sitting with the 12th overall pick, and things aren’t looking too hot in the race for RGIII or Matt Flynn. Quarterback Tavaris Jackson played reasonably well during the second half of the season, and GM John Schneider said that he isn’t too desperate to find a new guy behind center. But if Ryan Tannehill is still available, Schneider should strongly consider sending him to Seattle. He might be the key to this team that has been known as “just a quarterback away” from being great.