Because it's May, players are all looking great in pads, ahead of schedule in their rehabs, and/or practicing without limitations. There's plenty of optimism, and at least some of is warranted. Better than the alternative. Good things are being said about Ryan Tannehill.
This story in the Miami Herald talks about Tannehill at OTAs. He's been cleared to practice, and he's not wearing a brace on his knee. Since he tore his ACL early on in training camp last year, he's 10 months removed from the injury; will be a year removed by the start of August. Should be ready to go for the start of the exhibition season.
Clearly, Miami isn't worried about having Tannehill healthy, since it's cluttered the roster with several quarterbacks the team would have no desire to actually put into a game. At times in the past there was talk that Matt Moore might be a better starter for the Dolphins. I don't think anyone will (or should) be saying that about Brock Osweiler, David Fales or Bryce Petty.
Even assuming he is healthy, you have to think Tannehill will run less than he used to. He'd been on a downward trend in that area anyway, hurting his fantasy value.
In each of his first three seasons in the league (2012-2014), he'd run a little bit more each year. That was capped by him finishing 2014 as the 10th-best fantasy quarterback (4-point TD passes, 6-point TD runs, 1 point for every 20 passing and 10 rushing yards), running for almost 20 yards per game. But in 2015 and 2016 he'd cut back and was running for about half as many yards per game. He was the 15th-ranked fantasy quarterback in 2015, 25th in 2016.
| TANNEHILL RUSHING NUMBERS, 2012-2016 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | G | Att | Yds | TD | Yds/G |
| 2012 | 16 | 49 | 211 | 2 | 13.2 |
| 2013 | 16 | 40 | 238 | 1 | 14.9 |
| 2014 | 16 | 56 | 311 | 1 | 19.4 |
| 2015 | 16 | 32 | 141 | 1 | 8.8 |
| 2016 | 13 | 39 | 164 | 1 | 12.6 |
In 2018, seems pretty likely he won't even run that often. Even assuming he stays healthy and plays 16 games, without that rushing production, he's unlikely to be a compelling fantasy option.
--Andy Richardson