Tennessee Titans: Ryan Tannehill is extremely underrated

Tennessee Titans quarterback, Ryan Tannehill, has been ranked a “Tier 3” quarterback and continues to be underrated.

Without Ryan Tannehill, the Tennessee Titans could be lost with nowhere to go. With Tannehill, the Titans finish the 2019 season one game short of a Super Bowl appearance.

Derrick Henry and Tannehill were the perfect combination for the Titans offense as they led the Titans to the AFC Championship after defeating the New England Patriots in the Wild Card Round and the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Divisional round.

Even though Tannehill helped carry the Titans in the second half of the 2019 season and the playoffs, he’s still getting underrated.

Pro Football Focus’ Steve Palazzolo ranked NFL quarterbacks in four tiers, and Tannehill fell to Tier 3. If you’re looking at his career numbers, then Tannehill might be a Tier 3 quarterback, but if we’re going off of what each quarterback has done recently, then Tannehill is a Tier 2 quarterback at worst.

"“There’s no denying that Tannehill’s 2019 season was a far cry from the rest of his career,” Palazzolo said. “Even if this is a turning point in his development, it will still be difficult for him to duplicate the on-field production that carried the Titans’ offense last season. That said, Tannehill has always been an accurate quarterback at the short and intermediate levels. Deep passing success is often down to the supporting cast, and that’s where wide receiver A.J. Brown provides hope. Expect some regression from Tannehill, especially with positively graded throws, but there’s also a chance that he is truly rejuvenated in a system that fits his skill set, which could give the Titans another top-rated offense in 2020.”"

Palazzolo’s reasoning is pretty hopeful. You would think by his comments on Tannehill that he has decently high expectations for the Titans’ quarterback, and that might still be the case, but his ranking doesn’t resemble that.

Other Tier 3 quarterbacks include Cam Newton, Joe Burrow, Derek Carr, Jared Goff, Jimmy Garappolo, Kirk Cousins, Dak Prescott, Matthew Stafford, Carson Wentz, Ben Roethlisberger, Baker Mayfield, and Philip Rivers. So nearly half of the league’s starting quarterbacks fall into this category.

Tannehill was one of the best quarterbacks in the league statistically and led in multiple categories, including He also led the NFL in passer rating, yards per attempt, yards per completion, yet he falls to Tier 3 in this ranking. He also finished with the third-highest grade, according to Pro Football Focus.

One thing that hurts Tannehill in this ranking and most other rankings is his consistency. He’s failed to be a consistent force in his offense, but if he can prove that he’s able to do be consistent this fall, then he will quickly rise through the rankings.