Why Ryan Tannehill will remain an elite NFL QB going forward

Tannehill Elite?

I mentioned earlier that Ryan Tannehill was an elite QB in 2019, but some would disagree with that. Many people love to doubt the Tennessee Titans and anyone who plays for the team. In fact, Jon Ledyard and others created a top 100 list for players in the NFL.

In my opinion, the Tennessee Titans have at least 4 players that make this list. Only one of which did, that being Kevin Byard. That means that Ryan Tannehill, Derrick Henry, and Taylor Lewan were all snubbed from the list, and none of the three even made the “first 20 out.”

For some reason, there is a narrative that Ryan Tannehill’s success relies on Derrick Henry running the ball. Many don’t believe that Tannehill has the ability to make difficult throws that are required to be an elite quarterback. That is just not true, Tannehill is one of the best in the NFL at making difficult throws. Respected opponent Devin McCourty had this to say about Tannehill:

"He’s always had a very, very good arm throwing the ball down the field, pretty accurate at throwing throws, deep balls, intermediate routes. We’ve seen him for years, we’ve been a part of some of his best games in Miami, so we know what he’s capable of and we’ve watched how he’s leading that team."

Need even more proof that Tannehill is an elite quarterback? Next Gen Stats shows that when you take into account the difficulty of throws, Ryan Tannehill is the best in the NFL.

Trying to convince people that the results in Miami weren’t on Tannehill is going to be a long battle, but there is no better way to start that battle than by doing what Tannehill did in 2019: dominate.

“Elite” may be subjective depending on what you believe defines an elite QB, but even if you don’t want to give him that title yet then you need to be able to admit that he was the perfect fit for this offense and helped unlock their potential to put 30 points on the board routinely.