Are the Browns seriously considering drafting Ryan Tannehill with the number four pick in the upcoming NFL Draft? Really? I have a lot of faith in Mike Holmgren and Tom Heckert and therefore there is no way I believe they are even considering Tannehill. Now I am just a fan and have no scouting credentials what so ever, but let me give you the reasons why the Browns should not draft Tannehill.
I have watched Tannehill twice in my life play football, once against Arkansas when I don’t even recall him being considered a 2nd round pick let alone a top 5 pick. He did not stand out in the game throwing 1 interception and 0 touchdowns while his team blew a 35-17 halftime lead and lost 42-38. The second game I watched him play in the “grand daddy of them all”, the Meineke Bowl where the Aggies took on the powerful Wildcats from Northwestern.
Tannehill did play better in the Aggies 33-22 victory over North Western. He did not even come close to any effort I saw from RG3 or Andrew Luck this season, yet some “experts” are saying to draft him two spots behind RG3?
What you have read thus far is my opinion based on what I have seen from this past college football season, so let me give you some facts to back-up my opinion as well. Tannehill played WR for his first two seasons at Texas A and M while seeing action at QB in three games. He won the starting QB position mid-way through his Junior season and completed 65% of his passes and threw 13 TD’s and 6 INT’s for 1,600 yards. He started all of his team’s game as a Senior and completed 61% of his passes for 3,744 yds with 29 TD’s and 15 INT’s. Not bad stats, but certainly not “top 5” stats.
My biggest concern above any stat is his lack of playing time at QB, he started 19 games in college. In comparison, Colt McCoy started 44 games and was drafted in the 3rd round while Tom Brady started 25 games and was drafted in the 6th round. Now he could turn out to be Brady, but do you really want to gamble the 4th overall pick on that scenario? Especially when you have needs at so many positions for a team coming off a four win season and a fan base begging for a winner.
Since the first two picks of the draft have been determined its almost as if the NFL and ESPN are concerned there is not enough draft talk or at least talk of another top QB prospect. Hence, what I like to call the invention of “Tanne-hype” the attempt to make a above average college quarterback into a franchise saving star.
To pull this off you need a desperate fan base, a team with a high pick, and a front office scared enough to make a rash decision to satisfy some of the fan base. Enter your Cleveland Browns. Will the Holmgren-Heckert regime fall for the hype?
Arnie Hamilton
