Sam Darnold or Ryan Tannehill: Which quarterback would you want?
By Zach Cohen
The Case For Ryan Tannehill
Unlike Darnold, Tannehill has actually proven something. Last season, Tannehill led the NFL in passer rating (117.5) and posted the third-best completion percentage (70.3) en route to winning Comeback Player of the Year. He also won seven of his first 10 starts before helping the Titans pound their way to the AFC Championship Game.
Even more surprising was Tannehill’s downfield accuracy. In Miami, he was never known as a downfield passer. He averaged less than 6.8 Adjusted Yards per Pass Attempt, which Pro Football Reference uses to account for the actual number of yards a pass travels in the air. In Tennessee, that number skyrocketed to 10.2, which was the best in the league.
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On top of that, Tannehill was fourth in Average Completed Air Yards (7.5), third in Average Intended Air Yards (9.6) and fourth in Average Throw Time (9.2), per NFL’s Next Gen Stats. Essentially, this means that Tannehill was making big throws and didn’t rely much on Yards After Catch from his receivers. That seemed to be a common misconception, especially since Tennessee was only 16th in overall YAC last season, per the Washington Post.
The Titans have normally boasted a stellar offensive line, yet interestingly enough, last season was an anomaly. Tennessee’s offensive line surrendered the second-most sacks (56) while allowing the most sacks per pass attempt (11.1 percent of Mariota/Tannehill’s attempts led to sacks).
While Tannehill was only on the wrong end of half of those sacks, that’s still a large enough number to not give Tannehill the benefit of a good offensive line. If anything, the Titans’ offensive line benefited their running game, not their passing game.
There’s no denying that in the right situation, Tannehill can flourish. He was a clear upgrade over Marcus Mariota in Week 6. If the first five games were any indication, Tennessee wouldn’t have won nine of their next 13 games with Mariota under center. As much as Tannehill’s ascension gave the Titans new life, Tannehill was equally as reborn as a Titan.
Based on last season alone, he could be a capable starter for another five or so years.