The panic is starting to settle into the NFL Draft Rooms. Perhaps not quite as badly as it did last year, but is back. It's the panic to draft a quarterback.
In 2011, the early mock drafts had Jake Locker going late in Round 1, and Christian Ponder not at all in the first 32 picks. But then you started to see the signs that something was going to change. And on draft day it did. Locker went #8 to Tennessee, and Ponder four picks later to Minnesota. San Francisco then traded up early into Round 2 to select Colin Kaepernick. The need to get your franchise quarterback is a strong one, and it is starting to look like the same thing is happening again in 2012.
Washington showed just how much they wanted Robert Griffin III by trading 3 first round picks and a second to select the Heisman Trophy winner in the second slot. After that things are getting interesting. Ryan Tannehill has all the tools to be a solid starter, but he was seen as someone who needed seasoning to reach his potential. PANIC!!! Now it's not whether or not he will go in Round 1, but how high.
As I have been compiling data for my latest DSA Player Rankings, Tannehill is making a move up the charts like I've never seen. Miami is looking to be the likely landing spot, but there is a question out there that only Mike Holmgren can answer: Will the Cleveland Browns take Ryan Tannehill with the 4th Overall Pick of the 2012 NFL Draft?
Cleveland lost out on Griffin, and I have previously posted that I thought it might work out best for the Browns as they could get Tannehill at #22. He won't last that long. After not being able to get Peyton Manning and Matt Flynn in free agency, Cleveland is going into the season with Colt McCoy at quarterback in a division with three playoff teams. With two first round picks, there is a possibility that they might trade up with the pick they acquired last year from Atlanta to get Tannehill, but that cost would be just as great as the Falcons paid to the Browns.
If that is the case, Tannehill better pan out, or Cleveland will be crying PANIC!!! in the Draft Room again, looking to find their franchise quarterback.
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