Mike Mayock on Texas A&M QB Ryan Tannehill: “Cleveland Has To Take Him At No. 4”
It’s not that I put so much stock into Pro Days as great evaluation tools for NFL prospects, but when hype is building around a player–an injured player at that–you have to take notice. Texas A&M quarterback Ryan Tannehill only had 19 starts in college after starting his career at wide receiver, but as a quarterback, he is building hype as a lock top 10 selection.
One guy I always listen to is Mike Mayock, and here is what he had to say on Tannehill’s performance:
Top QB prospect Ryan Tannehill had a great workout at the Texas A&M pro day Thursday.
He’s a big, strong kid that can rip the ball. He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.62 seconds, but we all knew he was athletic already because he’s a former wide receiver. His foot is fine. He threw the ball extremely well on short, intermediate and deep passes. His movement skills in the pocket were excellent; he had good feet and good accuracy on the run. Everything checks out.
I expected to see all that. This was a scripted workout and it confirmed what I saw on tape. Potentially, down the road, he could be a franchise quarterback. The problem is, he’s not ready to play right now. He’s very raw; he only had 19 starts in college. However, because the NFL is so overheated right now when it comes to finding franchise quarterbacks, I think the kid is probably going to go higher than he should. I think Cleveland has to take him at No. 4, and if they don’t, Miami is sitting there at No. 8. So the worst-case scenario for him is, I think, that he’s going to go at No. 8 to the Dolphins.
But I don’t think he’s ready to play Day 1. I don’t think he trusts his reads yet. He’s got a long way to go, but I think he’s got the tools necessary to be a franchise quarterback.
Mayock has called some crazy things before, specifically saying that the Raiders would take Darrius Heyward-Bey well before there was a thought that Michael Crabtree was not the consensus best receiver in that year’s draft. However, this would probably be one of the more wild developments in recent draft history. There was a point not too long ago where Tannehill was considered a developmental 2nd round pick, and now he may have locked in a top five slot. That is a pretty impressive rise for a guy who has been injured all offseason until this point.
For whatever it’s worth, the Browns had a “large contingent” at the Texas A&M pro day, including offensive coordinator Brad Childress. The Miami Dolphins sent head coach Joe Philbin and general manager Jeff Ireland, so I think Mayock’s assertion that Tannehill’s range is from four to eight is probably spot on.