N.F.L. Draft: The Case for Ryan Tannehill Matt Waldman is the author of the Rookie Scouting Portfolio, which can be pre-ordered and is available for download April 1. What do you call 9 for 22 for 156 yards, with a touchdown and an interception, in one half of football? If the execution behind the statistics isn't studied, then I call it meaningless. These stats belong to Texas A&M quarterback Ryan Tannehill's performance in a blowout loss to Oklahoma last season. After studying his performance in this game and others, my conclusion is that Tannehill exhibits starter potential for the N.F.L. Often the worst statistical games reveal strong positives in a player's skill and potential. I'd rather see how a player deals with adversity than study games where he only has success. There are more situations that test a player's skill to its limit, and the absence of good stats doesn't mean an absence of skills to watch. It's why I had strong marks for players like Ahmad Bradshaw, Joseph Addai, Matt Forte and several other prospects whose opponents overmatched their teams. If you're watching technique, effort and physical skill, then stats fade into the background. Wth the Redskins" exchange of three first-round picks for the second spot in the draft, there is a lot of debate among draftniks about Tannehill's value as a top-10 pick. I've read one former scout write on Twitter that he's the most likely player to get a G.M. fired. I read another say he's overrated. On the other hand, Tannehill's former coach Mike Sherman compares his A&M starter favorably to Bengals QB Andy Dalton - with a better arm. Quarterback is one of the more difficult positions to project to the next level. I've had my share of hits - Jay Cutler over Matt Leinart and Vince Young and Matt Stafford over Mark Sanchez - and misses - John Beck and Blaine Gabbert if they continue to perform as they have - just like everyone else. But I believe Tannehill is a good first-round prospect with the potential to have as good a career as Andrew Luck or Robert Griffin III, if not better. For the full analysis of Tannehill's first half against Oklahoma, with photo sequences to illustrate the points, click here. Tannehill frequently delivers the ball with a three-quarter delivery. But his elbow is at or above shoulder level during his release, which allows him to generate good velocity. Bernie Kosar, Rich Gannon and Philip Rivers all threw the ball with a consistently lower delivery point than Tannehill and all three had the elbow at shoulder level. The release is a non-issue. Tannehill's throws demonstrate good velocity and accuracy when he is forced to deliver the ball in an off-balanced position while under pressure. Tannehill made a throw off his back foot with a defender tight to him and made 27-yard pass on the move look like a "toss." This is a sign of good arm strength and accuracy even when he can't exhibit technically good form. This is why Jay Cutler was an excellent prospect from the standpoint of skills and physical talent. The fact that Oklahoma's athletic defense used a spy on Tannehill indicated the respect it had for his athleticism. But more than any quarterback in this class - Andrew Luck (a close second) included - Tannehill has a great feel for the pocket in terms of when to hang, when to slide away from pressure, and when to run. The fact that Tannehill is athletic enough for a team to use a spy but has enough poise to take but a single step/hitch forward makes him more dangerous than most quarterbacks with big-play running ability because they lack the patience and awareness to keep their eyes down the field, slide to an open area and use the run only as a last resort. Tannehill repeatedly demonstrates the discipline and hand size to pump-fake or bring the ball down after beginning a release. Ben Roethlisberger is (and Brett Favre was) great at this skill. Last year, Cam Newton was considered a project because he had only one year of Division I experience in a spread offense. Tannehill has a year and a half experience as a Division I quarterback in a pro-style offense and two more as a receiver. I think he has as much understanding of a pro-style passing game as almost any college prospect in this draft. And in his statistically poor first half against Oklahoma, Tannehill demonstrated skills with a high degree of difficulty against defenses that weren't as vanilla as many teams play on Saturday afternoons. Counting on any rookie quarterback to play like Newton or Andy Dalton is asking too much from an N.F.L. rookie. However, Tannehill belongs in the top half of this draft and he's not the project some people think.