In the wake of the news DeAndre Hopkins is planning to play for the Tennessee Titans, quarterback Ryan Tannehill was caught in the crossfire, with endless examples of people disrespecting the veteran signal-caller.
This is nothing new, of course. We see it all the time (in the wake of the Julio Jones trade, for example), and especially when the Titans make national headlines .
Not even the biggest Titans homer is going to sit here and say Tannehill is a top quarterback, nor will they ignore his past issues in the playoffs, but he is far better than he’s widely portrayed by football media and fans.
Take, for example, these rankings from analyst Warren Sharp, where the Titans’ quarterbacks room is ranked as a bottom-five group.
Granted, Tennessee’s depth chart contains two unproven players in Malik Willis and Will Levis, but Tannehill himself is reason enough to say this ranking (No. 28) is too damn low.
best QB rooms in the NFL:
1. Chiefs
2. Bengals
3. Bills
4. Eagles
5. Chargers
6. Ravens
7. Jaguars
8. Cowboys
9. Jets
10. Dolphins
11. Browns
12. Bears
13, Vikings
14. Broncos
15. Lions
16. Saints
17. Rams
18. Giants
19. 49ers
20. Cardinals
21. Seahawks
22. Texans
23. Panthers…— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) July 19, 2023
DeAndre Hopkins really chose Ryan Tannehill over Mac Jones. That’s wild.
— Jordan Moore (@iJordanMoore) July 16, 2023
Thankfully, there are some out there — albeit very few and very far between — who don’t cover the Titans on a daily basis who get it.
Here’s what one of my favorite follows on Twitter, Pro Football Focus’ Ian Hartitz, had to say about Tannehill, who has posted top-10 numbers in several key metrics since taking over in 2019.
Once again the Ryan Tannehill on here is out of control.
EPA/dropback: +0.12 (No. 9 among 39 qualified QB since 2019
Passer rating: 100.5 (No. 6)
Yards per attempt: 7.9 (No. 4)
Adjusted yards per attempt: 8.09 (No. 6)
Completion rate: 66.9% (No. 10)
TD/INT ratio: 2.7 (No. 10)— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) July 17, 2023
Stats don’t lie, and neither does safety Kevin Byard, who was recently a guest on ESPN’s “Keyshawn, JWill and Max”, where he threw support behind his quarterback while also calling him a “really, really, really great quarterback.”
“(Tannehill’s) been phenomenal, so I do kind of think it’s a little bit of disrespect because, I mean, don’t get me wrong, he’s not talked about with the Patrick Mahomes’ and the Josh Allen’s, but we’re always there and I think when you got a guy like Tannehill, we always have a shot to go and make a run and go win ballgames,” Byard said.
“Ryan Tannehill is still a really, really, really great quarterback, and I’m excited to go into another season with Ryan Tannehill as our quarterback.”
Say what you want about Tannehill’s flaws, but the Titans — as well as a lot of teams in the NFL — could do a hell of a lot worse than what he’s done during his stint in Nashville.
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