NFL Draft 2012: Redskins Making a Big Mistake Putting Ryan Tannehill on Radar

It was no secret heading into this offseason that the Washington Redskins were going to have to address their problems at the quarterback position. As time has passed, their plans have gotten a little clearer.

Though the Redskins have been rumored as a potential match for Peyton Manning, it now sounds like their top priority is finding a quarterback in the draft.

Mike Jones, a Redskins beat writer for the Washington Post, dropped a bombshell of a scoop on Tuesday. Here it is via Rotoworld's Chris Wesseling:

First of all, it's not at all surprising that Robert Griffin III is at the top of Washington's wish list. It's pretty obvious at this point that RG3 is the second-best prospect in the draft behind Andrew Luck, and ESPN's Adam Schefter reported on Monday that the St. Louis Rams have decided to trade the No. 2 overall pick. The Redskins are one of several teams with the assets to trade up to draft RG3.

Second of all, even bothering to entertain the notion of drafting Ryan Tannehill with the sixth overall pick is a mistake. A big mistake.

Tannehill is a true project player. Plain and simple. He has talent, but he's a converted wide receiver who has limited experience playing quarterback. That wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, but the major problem with Tannehill is that he played like a novice quarterback at Texas A&M. He enjoyed some success, but he also made it clear that he needs some fine-tuning.

I won't deny that the tools are there. Tannehill is tall, strong and has a good arm. Better yet, Tannehill left scouts at the NFL combine impressed with his intangibles (Bill Williamson of ESPN.com has the story).

But just because Tannehill has the makeup of a good quarterback doesn't mean he's going to be one. There's a lot of uncertainty surrounding him, and whoever drafts him is going to have to put him in a situation where he can watch and learn.

This is the kind of project the Redskins should want no part of. They don't have a quarterback to mentor Tannehill, nor do they have a supporting cast on offense that would make Tannehill's transition that much easier if they were to start him right away. They would be able to implement an NFL-ready quarterback (i.e. RG3), but a quarterback like Tannehill would be a huge roll of the dice.

It would be a bad idea for the Redskins to draft Tannehill even if they had the No. 32 pick in the draft. Drafting him with the No. 6 overall pick in the draft is a horrible idea.

If the Redskins want to take their chances on a quarterback, they should target a prospect who won't require such a high draft pick. Either that, or look to free agency. 

Tannehill has upside, but the Redskins can do better.