What Ryan Tannehill Selection Means for Miami Dolphins

Ryan Tannehill is the Miami Dolphins quarterback of the future.

Whether that future lies in the immediate future, the near future, the not-too-distant future or sometime down the road, the Dolphins have invested the No. 8 pick in a player they eventually hope will take the reigns of their franchise and lead them to glory.

The stats from the past two years tell a grand tale of success for Tannehill. He threw twice as many touchdowns (42) as interceptions (21), and completed over 60 percent of his passes both seasons. He was also only sacked 21 times the past two seasons.

Those stats will likely take a huge hit if he hits the field in 2012, at least according to the pundits.

But it's not hard to see why. The Dolphins don't have the bevy of weaponry they'd probably like for Tannehill to throw to, and there are some weaknesses on the offensive line, specifically in pass protection.

With all of that in mind, there's no rush to get Tannehill in—it's not as though he's going to, and will likely allow David Garrard and Matt Moore to battle it out for the starting job.

But there are some glaring concerns: He couldn't beat out Jerrod Johnson at Texas A&M, and converted from receiver to quarterback in 2010. That being said, he's an incredible athlete and has an arm. He's a raw prospect, and it will take some time to get him ready for the NFL.

Whoever rides the bench will likely have the good fortune of being the voice in Tannehill's ear. And in that sense, the Dolphins have set up Tannehill with a great contingency to help him grow: a quarterback's offensive-minded coach in Joe Philbin, his own former head coach at A&M Mike Sherman, and two veterans with starting NFL talent in Garrard and Moore.

He's blazing the trail of a long list of quarterbacks, several of which rode in and out of town in one fell swoop, but none of which rode into town on a first-round horse. The commitment is there, and for that, the Dolphins deserve some props.