Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill had a lot of success when throwing the deep ball last season, which further dispels the notion that he is only tasked with handing the ball off to Derrick Henry.
In a list compiled by Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar using advanced metrics compiled from different outlets, Tannehill ranked as the No. 3 quarterback when it came to throwing the deep ball in 2019.
Like Gardner Minshew, Tannehill had a relatively low sample size, as he replaced Marcus Mariota halfway through Tennessee’s 2019 season. But he left no question about his abilities, and the deep ball was one of many positive factors. On deep routes, Tannehill completed 30 of 53 passes for 865 yards, 584 air yards, seven touchdowns, one interception, and a passer rating of 134.6, which led the NFL. Tannehill did so while throwing into tight coverage on 19.6% of his total passes, sixth-highest in the NFL.
To add to how impressive Tannehill’s deep-ball numbers were, Farrar made sure to avoid relying on the “athletic prowess” of a quarterback’s receivers, and instead focused on a quarterback’s ability to “use timing, arm talent, the ability to throw long distances into tight windows, and the understanding of passing game structure to make these plays.”
The only quarterbacks that ranked higher than Tannehill were the Seattle Seahawks’ Russell Wilson and the Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes.
As we outlined in a separate article, there are plenty of other stats to point to that show Tannehill is a better quarterback than most give him credit for, including his ability to make difficult throws.
Unfortunately, it seems the people who criticize Tannehill the most didn’t watch him during the regular season and are basing their opinion of him on just three playoff games, two of which Henry carried the Titans through.
The truth is that without Tannehill’s improved quarterback play, the Titans don’t make it to the playoffs in the first place, as Tennessee’s revival on offense directly coincided with Tannehill being named the starter.
Of course, a lot of Tannehill’s success comes from using play action because of the threat Henry poses, but it’s not like these throws are making themselves.
Tannehill is still tasked with making challenging throws in offensive coordinator Arhur Smith’s offense, and he’s completing them at an elite rate.
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