Ryan Tannehill: Dolphins Must Be Patient with New QB

The Miami Dolphins spent a lofty pick on new QB Ryan Tannehill, but they can't allow this fact to force him into action before he is ready.

Miami selected the Texas A&M QB with the No. 8 pick in the draft. And that valuable real estate, combined with the fact that they are dealing with a fanbase that is ravenous to watch a QB they can be excited about, makes the pressure high to play Tannehill right away. 

That would be a fatal mistake. Tannehill is not ready. 

Tannehill spent his first two years at Texas A&M playing wide receiver, and his inexperienced showed. 

In his junior season, he attempted just 234 passes and still chucked six interceptions. His senior year, his workload throwing the ball drastically increased and so did his interceptions. He had 15 of them. 

The reason for the majority of these picks is bad decision making. He tries to force the ball into coverage too often. Which is certainly not surprising considering his lack of practice and playing time at the position. 

That said, there is a reason the Dolphins drafted him at No. 8. He is phenomenally gifted. He has great size, excellent mobility, a strong arm and good accuracy. 

He definitely has the potential to give the Dolphins their first franchise-type QB since Dan Marino left. They just have to handle him with kid gloves. 

Along with his decision-making issues, Tannehill has a less than ideal release point. There is no doubt that the Dolphins coaches will instantly go to work on adjusting that release. 

If they throw Tannehill into the fire, he is going to struggle. This will lead to him forgetting any new mechanics and further cementing the faulty ones. Essentially, it would only reinforce the bad habits that Miami is hoping he can evolve beyond. 

The only way to do this is to let him sit on the bench, log valuable practice hours and not start him until he is comfortable and well-equipped to handle the NFL.