Tannehill To Be Redskins QB of the Future

Spend a few minutes on Mocking the Draft or Hogs' Haven and you'll quickly learn that many Washington Redskin fans fantasize about seeing Baylor's Robert Griffin III in burgundy and gold. These prognosticators say - if all goes according to the Mastermind's plan - Mike Shanahan will leapfrog the Cleveland Browns and make the 2011 Heisman Trophy winner Washington's quarterback for the next decade.

These people are misguided, however. It turns out Ryan Tannehill, the former Texas A&M quarterback, will be the pick.

I can hear the outcries now. I can see the rotten tomatoes and spoiled eggs being gathered. Torches? Check. Pitchforks? Sharpened.

Before you direct your outrage at me, please understand that I am a mere messenger, sent from the future in an effort to minimize your disappointment next April.

So how did it all go down? At this point, details remain fuzzy. We know that Ryan Tannehill will be in the Redskins' training camp this summer. On this matter, confidence is greater than 99%, which is as high as the machine goes for events beyond three days. Beyond that, I won't bore you with all the permutations. Suffice it to say, there's a greater than 85% probability that the Redskins traded down, but still drafted Tannehill in the first round. There's also a better than 65% probability that the Redskins obtained Peyton Manning.

As the event approaches, details will clarify.

In retrospect (which is presently prospective), Tannehill's selection shouldn't come as a total surprise. If we examine Shanahan's pre-draft evaluation of Jay Cutler in 2006, we learn that Shanahan relied heavily on input obtained from sources he trusts. Specifically, he consulted with his good friend, then-Tennessee Titans' head coach Jeff Fisher. Apparently, the Titan's staff had scouted Cutler extensively while he played in their backyard at Vanderbilt University. Of course, we now know that Shanahan traded up to select Cutler with the eleventh pick in the 2006 draft.

The evaluation of Cutler wasn't the only time Shanahan relied on the input of friends while making draft plans. It was well-documented that Bronco owner Pat Bowlen's friend June Jones, who coached Ashley Lelie at the University of Hawaii, gave the wide receiver glowing reviews. Jones' input gave Shanahan enough confidence to select Lelie with the nineteenth pick in the 2002 draft. At the time, many believed Shanahan reached for Lelie. But Shanahan went against mainstream thinking and placed a higher value on his friend's opinion. Ultimately, Lelie's forgettable career vindicated the selection's detractors.

So what kind of "inside information" does Shanahan have on Tannehill? He might not have any yet. However, some data streams indicate that, during the next few months, he will consult with his friend Mike Sherman, the recently-fired former head coach at Texas A&M. And, although we have no way to know what was said in those conversations, it's reasonable to speculate that Sherman will give Tannehill great reviews. And it probably didn't hurt that Tannehill ran a West Coast offense at Texas A&M. Incidentally, there's a 13% chance Sherman ends up on the Redskins' staff.

Data fragments from one of Shanahan's post-draft press conferences include the words "athleticism" and "wide receiver." At this point, we lack sufficient context for complete understanding. But it seems likely that Shanahan made a reference to Tannehill's recent conversion to quarterback from wide receiver.

I realize this news will likely be unwelcome to many Redskins fans. But I think you can take some solace in the notion that there's a better than 50/50 chance that Tannehill will be able to learn from both Mike Shanahan and Peyton Manning. Plus, Ryan Tannehill is neither Rex Grossman nor John Beck. And that's something.