After taking Ryan Tannehill with the eighth overall pick in the NFL draft, Dolphins G.M. Jeff Ireland said his new quarterback has the same level of talent as the first and second picks.
According to Ireland, the only reason Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III were seen as clearly better than Tannehill is that they had more experience than Tannehill, who began his college career as a receiver and only started 20 games at quarterback at Texas A&M.
“If we had eight to ten more games of film to watch Ryan Tannehill play that position, I think we’re looking at him in the same breath as Griffin and maybe Luck. I think he’s got that kind of ability and arm talent,” Ireland said on the Joe Rose Show on 560 WQAM in Miami.
It could also be argued, of course, that if Tannehill had Luck’s or Griffin’s talent he would have had more games on film because Texas A&M wouldn’t have waited until midway through his junior year to move him from receiver to quarterback. But the Dolphins have Tannehill’s college coach, Mike Sherman, as their offensive coordinator, and they obviously believe he’ll be a franchise quarterback. Even if few people think he’s on the same level as Luck or Griffin.