Seahawks Angling For Tannehill?

Opinions are all over the board on Ryan Tannehill.  Spend a few minutes sifting through Twitter and you’ll find a lot scouting reports with the words “raw,” “overrated” or “bust” in them.  But in recent days some pretty heavy hitters are singing his praises, and now it looks like Tannehill is a lock to go in the early part of the first round.  NFL Network’s Mike Mayock calls him a top ten talent, and both Russ Lande of Sporting News and legendary former Cowboys G.M. Gil Brandt view Tannehill as an elite quarterback prospect.

How high will he go?   Up until now it appeared that Miami at #8 or Cleveland at #4 would be the best fits; Miami’s new O.C. is Mike Sherman, who coached Tannehill at Texas A&M, where he played in an offense Sherman learned from Mike Holmgren, now the Browns G.M.

But things have shifted.  As Jesse wrote this morning, it appears the Browns are content to move forward with Colt McCoy as their starter, while possibly looking to hit on a later-round QB.  So that leaves the Dolphins, who has former Green Bay backup Matt Flynn scheduled for a visit this weekend.

But right now Flynn is in Seattle visiting the Seahawks.  Will they let him leave without a contract?  I believe they will, and that the visit may just be another chess move by G.M. John Schneider.

Tannehill may ultimately be their target.

With Peyton Manning informing Miami that he’s no longer considering them, the Dolphins are desperate…. much more desperate than the Seahawks.  Despite what you think of Tavaris Jackson, Schneider and Pete Carroll are willing to continue with him at the helm while they wait for the opportunity to find the right young QB to lead them long term.

That guy could be Tannehill.  Usually keeping his evaluations close to the vest, Schneider said this about Tannehill at the scouting combine last month:

"December 31, 2011; Houston, TX, USA; Texas AThe guy was a quarterback in high school, just a football player. First and foremost, that’s what we’re looking for. Especially at that position. Guys that have always been in the quarterback schools, the special camps, and all that kind of stuff — they make me a little nervous to a certain extent. This guy is a real football player. He played defense. You could see him last year when he stepped in, he just went out and played. He had this natural toughness about him that the players really rallied around and went on a winning streak. And he did a great job."

Sounds like Schneider and Carroll’s kind of guy.

It’s possible that the Seahawks interest in Flynn is cursory, after all he’s one of those quarterback school guys Schneider referenced.  They would take him at the right price and have him compete with Jackson.  Or maybe they are hoping to create a market for him so that Miami has to pay more than they originally intended.  That would take them out of play for Tannehill and allow him to slide as far as their slot at #12.

Everyone assumes Seattle is set on taking someone to bolster their front seven at #12, but their front office has already shown an air of unpredictability.  As much as they’ve talked up the pass-rush need and preached patience in their quarterback search, it’s plausible that they would use that pick at the position if the right guy was there.

I ran my theory by Doug Farrar of Yahoo Sports, and he confirmed that the Seahawks indeed love Tannehill, but insisted that he won’t last until the 12th pick.

So who’s bluffing?  Will the Browns strike despite their public support of McCoy this week?  Would Miami sign Flynn AND draft Tannehill?  Is Buffalo a possiblity despite giving Ryan Fitzpatrick a big deal last year? Or would another team like Denver make the more ahead of Seattle to take him?

So many possibilities, so much time left for things to shift.  But as we get closer to April 26th, it’s looking more and more as if the pursuit of Ryan Tannehill may be one of the more significant storylines in this year’s draft.