Brace Yourselves Browns Fans: Ryan Tannehill To Workout For Cleveland

Texas A&M quarterback Ryan Tannehill had his Pro Day today, and by most accounts I’ve read, the kid did great. He had a 4.61 40 time, which, for a 6’4 222 lbs guy, is pretty damn amazing. He also completed 65 of 68 passes with two drops.

Tannehill also looked great throwing on the run, which suggested the foot injury that prevented him from performing at the 2012 Scouting Combine is healed.

Two key teams were present at Tannehill’s Pro Day: The Miami Dolphins and the Cleveland Browns.

The Dolphins sent G.M. Jeff Ireland to scout Tannehill, and they reportedly had dinner together last night. According to Dane Brugler of CBS Sports, Seahawks head coach decided to show up to that dinner, and ended up joining Tannehill and the Phins brass.

Hmmm. Weird.

Meanwhile, the Browns sent their new offensive coordinator, Brad Childress, and QB coach Mark Whipple to Tannehill’s Pro Day. After the throwing session was completed, Tannehill told reporters he has a private workout scheduled soon with the Browns.

Now, the title of this article is not specifically designed to troll Cleveland Browns fans who are VERY adamant that their team not draft Ryan Tannehill with the No. 4 pick. It’s mostly meant to calm those folks. A big misconception is that Tannehill has risen up the charts recently because, outside of Robert Griffin III and Andrew Luck, the class of “franchise” quarterbacks in this draft is slim.

Not true, says Brugler:

I’ve talked to people like SB Nation’s Dan Rubenstein, formerly of Sports Illustrated, and he’s told me several positive things about Tannehill.

Bottom line: He’s likely to go top ten because teams are grading him as such. If he is a top ten quarterback, why shouldn’t Cleveland draft him at No. 4?

For you Browns fans out there who are steadfast in your belief that the No. 4 pick absolutely must be Alabama’s Trent Richardson, the news today should make you happy as well:

This suggests that Cleveland’s private workout with Tannehill is specifically so Heckert and Shurmur can watch him throw, seeing as they decided it was more important to go to Richardson’s Pro Day than Tannehill’s.

My interest in Tannehill and Cleveland is for purely selfish reasons. I’ve been mocking Tannehill-to-Browns for months, and pretty much everyone and their mother laughed at me for doing it. Now, it’s the new fad. Also, aside from the joy it would bring me to rub it in people’s faces should Cleveland draft Tannehill, I personally think he is the better pick at No. 4.

Nothing against Richardson, but this is a quarterback-driven league now. Ten years ago, absolutely I say Richardson over Tannehill. Today, running backs are a dime a dozen. The Patriots went to a Super Bowl with an undrafted player at tailback, and the Giants won two rings in four years with backs like Ahmad Bradshaw (7th round pick) and Brandon Jacobs (4th round pick). You have to throw in this league to win, and right now the Browns don’t have anyone who can. If you seriously think Colt McCoy is a real NFL quarterback, I’m sorry.

No, really. I am.

Tannehill at least offers the potential to get over the hump and compete in the brutal division that is the AFC North. With McCoy, Cleveland is what they’ve always been since 1999, an easy win for the opponent.