Dolphins Pick QB Ryan Tannehill In 1st Round
NEW YORK (CBSMiami.com) - The Miami Dolphins went on the clock at the 2012 NFL Draft just after 8:45 p.m. and with the eight selection the Fins chose Texas A&M quarterback Ryan Tannehill.
"[We're} very,very excited to have Ryan," Fins general manager Jeff Ireland said Thursday night. "This is a kid we've been following quite a while. Great size, strong arm."
Miami will likely sit Tannehill on the bench for his first season in the NFL to give him time to adjust his game and learn the speed of the NFL.
When asked if Tannehill would start, Ireland answered, "I didn't take him with the eighth pick to be a backup."
Dolphins fans can mark down the date, April 26, 2012, exactly 29 years to the day the team last took a quarterback in the first round, a guy named Dan Marino.
It worked out pretty well for the first time when they too Marino. Tannehill isn't Marino, but Fins fans have hope that a quarterback of the future is now on the roster.
"It's humbling," Tannehill said about being a Fins QB like Marino. "I look forward to reach out to him and learn from him."
Tannehill was highly regarded as an athlete after starting his first two seasons as a wide receiver at Texas A&M.
While the athleticism was one of the big draws, many poked holes in Tannehill's game as far as making throws on inside slants and to the middle of the field.
"I have him rated as the 19th best player in the draft, which tells you I don't think he's ready to be a heavy contributor this year," said NFL Network draft guru Mike Mayock. "I watched every throw he made on tape this year. All the out-breaking routes are phenomenal. Where he gets in trouble are the in-breaking routes where he stares the receiver down, pats the ball and throws interceptions."
Still, Tannehill had a big arm and was a key cog in the Aggies offense the last two years.
The Dolphins had what former NFL great Marshall Faulk called an unfair advantage because Tannehill's coach in college was Mike Sherman, the Fins' current offensive coordinator.
Last season, Tannehill threw for 3,744 yards, 29 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions. For his career, Tannehill threw for more than 5,300 yards in two seasons as a quarterback.
