Robert Griffin III is the best quarterback in the draft. But Ryan Tannehill might catch Mike Shanahan’s eye just a little bit more? That’s what Russ Lande thinks, basing it on what his Denver connections long said about what Shanahan wants in a quarterback.
That doesn’t mean Lande – an ex-scout who publishes in-depth draft info for GM Jr. as well as the Sporting News — thinks the Redskins will take Tannehill. But it does mean he thinks they might find their QB of the future without surrendering four or five draft picks.
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In a Q&A for my Friday email report, Lande explained why he put Griffin ahead of Andrew Luck. Lande provided his checklist of five attributes he looks for in a QB — and when he compared Luck and Griffin, the checks kept going one guy’s way.
“After the combine I felt as long as he was above 6-2, I was comfortable doing that. But I would be shocked if the Redskins preferred Griffin over Ryan Tannehill,” Lande said. “There’s a lot of Cutler in this kid. He’s a big, athletic kid and from people that used to work for Mike in Denver, they’ve told me then that he loved the big strapping quarterbacks and he’s a big strapping good-looking kid. Griffin is not a big thick body kid. I think they’d stay put and go for this kid and maybe put the buzz out there in the hopes of driving someone else to go up and get Griffin. Ryan is really impressive in terms of what they want and what Shanahan is looking for. I just finished watching film on Tannehill and without question I would take him if I were the Redskins at 6. I think he’ll be a great quarterback.”
Then again, Jay Cutler is 6-foot-3 while Brian Griese (6-foot-3), John Elway (6-foot-3), Jake Plummer (6-foot-2) and Steve Young (6-foot-2) — all former Shanahan QBs — are all around Griffin’s range. Tannehill is 6-foot-4, but it’s also about body shape and he’s a little thicker than Griffin.
But Lande also changed his mind about Tannehill after watching him play in more games.
ESPN 980’s Chris Russell reported that Peyton Manning wasn’t interested in coming here for reasons, in part, that have been written here: He doesn’t want to face his brother Eli twice a year. NFL sources have said that it was tough for him to do so in the past.
So if that’s the case, thent he Redskins need to draft a quarterback with their first pick. Maybe it’s Tannehill, which is why Lande provided me a scouting report on him for the newsletter. But would Lande trade up for Griffin? Absolutely.
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