Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill is probably the most polarizing player currently on the team.
Many genuinely appreciate the highs that Tannehill has helped bring to Tennessee since taking over as the starting quarterback in 2019, while others solely focus on the lows, which has subsequently led to a lot of those people being non-believers in No. 17.
No one is claiming he’s an elite quarterback by any means, but Tannehill has been a productive and efficient signal-caller who has won a lot of games since becoming a Titan.
Despite that success, some refuse to give him the credit he rightfully deserves for at least doing his part. And, more often than not, he’s seriously underrated.
However, it appears that you cannot count Hall of Fame running back LaDainian Tomlinson among those who fall into that category.
During a recent segment on “NFL Total Access”, the Texas A&M product received some high praise from LT.
“Ryan Tannehill is one of the most underrated quarterbacks in the National Football League,” said Tomlinson. “He’s still very athletic, he has an explosive live arm, and I think there are things that he’s been through that have sharpened his tools. Meaning, he’s gonna be able to be a true leader for this offense and get them back to playing at a high level.”
"Ryan Tannehill is one of the most underrated quarterbacks in the NFL"
Do you agree with @LT_21? 👀 #Titans pic.twitter.com/tkkYEo9iUQ
— NFL Total Access (@NFLTotalAccess) August 7, 2023
Tomlinson is on point with his brief analysis of the Titans quarterback.
He’s not the type of guy who can put the entire team on his back and carry it to the promised land, but if you surround Tannehill with competent talent, he’s more than capable of getting the job done and keeping Tennessee competitive.
Since taking over back in 2019, Tannehill ranks in the top 10 in the following categories among 39 qualified quarterbacks:
- Yards per attempt: 7.9 (No. 4)
- Passer rating: 100.5 (No. 6)
- Adjusted yards per attempt: 8.09 (No. 6)
- EPA per dropback: +0.12 (No. 9)
- Completion rate: 66.9 percent (No. 10)
- Touchdown/interception ratio: 2.7 (No. 10)
LT also mentions one of Tannehill’s most underrated qualities: his leadership.
That is something that gets completely overlooked when talking about the 35-year-old. He not only leads by example, but he holds guys accountable and is constantly letting his teammates know what he expects out of them.
Tennessee’s signal-caller has especially been known to give detailed explanations of what he wants to see from his pass-catchers on any given rep.
This might sound like a common practice, but Tannehill has experience with playing wide receiver in the past, so he’s able to relate to his wideouts and explain what he’s specifically looking for better than most quarterbacks.
Obviously, a lot of the criticisms of Tanne come from his subpar playoff performances, but that shouldn’t completely overshadow everything he does to put the Titans in those situations in the first place, either.
Nevertheless, whether it’s right or wrong, until Tannehill has that playoff moment where he essentially leads the team to victory without a legendary performance by Derrick Henry, there will always be people who will say he was mostly just along for the ride.
For everybody’s sake, let’s hope we can get that from No. 17 come January.
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