My Two Cents: Titans Don't Care About Lack of National Respect for QB Ryan Tannehill
NASHVILLE — Because of how last season ended for the Tennessee Titans, with that ugly seven-game losing streak and all, they don't get talked about much in the national media. No one expects much either, really.
It's the same for individuals, too. Folks don't think much of quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who's 35 years old now. Fantasy football is different from the real game, of course, but it's still always amazing to see your starting quarterback at the bottom of the list.
Fanduel, a gambling website, released its fantasy football quarterback rankings and Tannehill ranked No. 30 out of 32 starts.
Ouch.
Here's how Fanduel ranked the NFL's 32 starting quarterbacks in their initial fantasy rankings for the season:
Fanduel's fantasy football rankings for quarterbacks.
- Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles
- Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills
- Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
- Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens
- Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers
- Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals
- Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars
- Justin Fields, Chicago Bears
- DeShaun Watson, Cleveland Browns
- Anthony Richardson, Indianapolis Colts
- Daniel Jones, New York Giants
- Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys
- Kirk Cousins, Minnesota Vikings
- Russell Wilson, Denver Broncos
- Aaron Rodgers, New York Jets
- Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams
- Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers
- Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh Steelers
- Derek Carr, New Orleans Saints
- Tua Tagovaiola, Miami Dolphins
- Jared Goff, Detroit Lions
- Geno Smith, Seattle Seahawks
- Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers
- Desmond Ridder, Atlanta Falcons
- C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans
- Mac Jones, New England Patriots
- Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers
- Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals
- Sam Howell, Washington Commanders
- Ryan Tannehill, Tennessee Titans
- Jimmy Garoppolo, Las Vegas Raiders
- Kyle Trask, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
It's just fantasy rankings, of course, so it doesn't really mean a whole lot. But still, No. 30? And what about real life? ESPN put together a top-10 list of quarterbacks ranked in 10 different categories, and Tannehill wasn't in any of them.
Tannehill, however, has won a lot of games as an NFL starting quarterback, and he's been a part of several Titans' playoff teams. Last year turned disastrous, bu the was also hurt too, getting beat up every game behind the worst offensive line in football.
The 2022 season ended disastrously, losing the Jacksonville on the final weekend to miss out on the playoffs. And even though the Titans have picked quarterbacks in each of the past two NFL Drafts — Malik Willis in the third round in 2022 and Will Levis in the second round this year — this is still Tannehill's team.
And inside the Titans' locker room, he still has plenty of support. And frankly, that's all the really matters.
"We don't care about any of those things. All we care about is what goes on in this building, and Ryan has been great this whole offseason,'' Titans wide receiver Treylon Burks said a few weeks ago. "We know what Ryan can do, and we've been doing a lot of good things already (in training camp).''
Tannehill has been full engaged all offseason after successful ankle surgery. He's been throwing to his guys for months, played a big role in getting DeAndre Hopkins to Nashville and has looked good in 11 vs. 11 drills in camp against a good Titans defense.
Granted, as I've told you before, I am an optimist by nature. A glass-half-full guy. I think a fully healthy Titans offense — with subtle improvements on the offensive line and massive improvements at offensive coordinator with Tim Kelly — can score enough points to win games. Tannehill is a big part of that. He has days — like Monday — where he looks great.
He still gives the Titans the best chance to win games. There will be a day when Levis or Willis — or somebody else — takes the reigns of this team. but that day is not today. It's still Tannehill's team.
He's no top-10 fantasy QB, because he's still going to hand the ball off to Derrick Henry a lot, but he's also nowhere near No. 30.
I'm not telling you to pick Tannehill for your fantasy team, but I can see 10 other names from 10-to-25 on this list that don't make sense to me. I'd take Tannehill over all of them.
Ryan Tannehill is not among the worst two or three quarterbacks in the NFL. And if he stays healthy, we'll see that during the first few months of the season for sure.
He's going to prove some doubters wrong.
