One of the stories making the rounds today involves Ryan Tannehill saying it's not his job to mentor Malik Willis. It sounds bad on the surface, but it's not as terrible in the full context of the interview, and it's not uncommon for veteran quarterbacks asked about drafted rookies (some have just been a little more diplomatic or careful with their answers).
Certainly, Tannehill is on the hot seat, but let's keep in mind where Willis was selected, not where many believed he'd be selected. He was a third-round pick, drafted after Tennessee had selected three other players, including a developmental tackle prospect in that round. If Tennessee has much confidence that Willis is a future franchise quarterback, they did a good job of disguising it.
In talking about Willis here recently, we noted that he was sacked once every 7 dropbacks at Liberty last season. That's an area where he's going to need considerable work, but not one where Tannehill will necessarily provide a lot of mentoring. It's been a problem for the veteran for much of his career, including last year.
Over the course of his career, Tann has been a 16-game starter six times. He's taken at least 45 sacks in four of those seasons, including 2021. He's compiled four of the 35 worst sack rates in the NFL over that time frame. (Data from pro-football-reference.com used in compiling this table.) Most of those were early in his career, with the Dolphins, but last year was a throwback performance for him in this regard.
QUARTERBACK SACK RATES, 2012-2021 | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Season | GS | Cmp | Att | Yds | TD | Int | Sk | Sk/Att |
Deshaun Watson | 2018 | 16 | 345 | 505 | 4165 | 26 | 9 | 62 | 12.3% |
Russell Wilson | 2018 | 16 | 280 | 427 | 3448 | 35 | 7 | 51 | 11.9% |
Blake Bortles | 2014 | 13 | 280 | 475 | 2908 | 11 | 17 | 55 | 11.6% |
Josh Rosen | 2018 | 13 | 217 | 393 | 2278 | 11 | 14 | 45 | 11.5% |
Carson Wentz | 2020 | 12 | 251 | 437 | 2620 | 16 | 15 | 50 | 11.4% |
Jacoby Brissett | 2017 | 15 | 276 | 469 | 3098 | 13 | 7 | 52 | 11.1% |
Tyrod Taylor | 2017 | 14 | 263 | 420 | 2799 | 14 | 4 | 46 | 11.0% |
Colin Kaepernick | 2014 | 16 | 289 | 478 | 3369 | 19 | 10 | 52 | 10.9% |
Dak Prescott | 2018 | 16 | 356 | 526 | 3885 | 22 | 8 | 56 | 10.6% |
Daniel Jones | 2020 | 14 | 280 | 448 | 2943 | 11 | 10 | 45 | 10.0% |
Ryan Tannehill | 2013 | 16 | 355 | 588 | 3913 | 24 | 17 | 58 | 9.9% |
Joe Burrow | 2021 | 16 | 366 | 520 | 4611 | 34 | 14 | 51 | 9.8% |
Alex Smith | 2014 | 15 | 303 | 464 | 3265 | 18 | 6 | 45 | 9.7% |
Alex Smith | 2015 | 16 | 307 | 470 | 3486 | 20 | 7 | 45 | 9.6% |
Kyle Allen | 2019 | 12 | 303 | 489 | 3322 | 17 | 16 | 46 | 9.4% |
Russell Wilson | 2015 | 16 | 329 | 483 | 4024 | 34 | 8 | 45 | 9.3% |
Russell Wilson | 2019 | 16 | 341 | 516 | 4110 | 31 | 5 | 48 | 9.3% |
Philip Rivers | 2012 | 16 | 338 | 527 | 3606 | 26 | 15 | 49 | 9.3% |
Aaron Rodgers | 2012 | 16 | 371 | 552 | 4295 | 39 | 8 | 51 | 9.2% |
Derek Carr | 2018 | 16 | 381 | 553 | 4049 | 19 | 10 | 51 | 9.2% |
Deshaun Watson | 2020 | 16 | 382 | 544 | 4823 | 33 | 7 | 49 | 9.0% |
Kyler Murray | 2019 | 16 | 349 | 542 | 3722 | 20 | 12 | 48 | 8.9% |
Ryan Tannehill | 2021 | 17 | 357 | 531 | 3734 | 21 | 14 | 47 | 8.9% |
Andy Dalton | 2012 | 16 | 329 | 528 | 3669 | 27 | 16 | 46 | 8.7% |
Russell Wilson | 2020 | 16 | 384 | 558 | 4212 | 40 | 13 | 47 | 8.4% |
Blake Bortles | 2015 | 16 | 355 | 606 | 4428 | 35 | 18 | 51 | 8.4% |
Matthew Stafford | 2017 | 16 | 371 | 565 | 4446 | 29 | 10 | 47 | 8.3% |
Aaron Rodgers | 2018 | 16 | 372 | 597 | 4442 | 25 | 2 | 49 | 8.2% |
Eli Manning | 2018 | 16 | 380 | 576 | 4299 | 21 | 11 | 47 | 8.2% |
Aaron Rodgers | 2015 | 16 | 347 | 572 | 3821 | 31 | 8 | 46 | 8.0% |
Joe Flacco | 2013 | 16 | 362 | 614 | 3912 | 19 | 22 | 48 | 7.8% |
Ryan Tannehill | 2014 | 16 | 392 | 590 | 4045 | 27 | 12 | 46 | 7.8% |
Matt Ryan | 2019 | 15 | 408 | 616 | 4466 | 26 | 14 | 48 | 7.8% |
Ryan Tannehill | 2015 | 16 | 363 | 586 | 4208 | 24 | 12 | 45 | 7.7% |
Jameis Winston | 2019 | 16 | 380 | 626 | 5109 | 33 | 30 | 47 | 7.5% |
Matthew Stafford | 2014 | 16 | 363 | 602 | 4257 | 22 | 12 | 45 | 7.5% |
Tannehill should start all season, with Willis learning the ropes and developing. But whether it's him or Willis in the lineup over the next few years, it looks like it will be a good offense to put a defense up against in fantasy leagues.
--Andy Richardson