My Two Cents: Titans Don't Care About Lack of National Respect for QB Ryan Tannehill

Fanduel released their fantasy football quarterback rankings on Monday and they had Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill at No. 30 out of 32 starters. That's crazy, and his Titans teammates could care less. They have full faith in their veteran leader.

NASHVILLE — Because of how last season ended for the Tennessee Titans, with that ugly seven-game losing streak and all, they don't get talked about much in the national media. No one expects much either, really.

It's the same for individuals, too. Folks don't think much of quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who's 35 years old now. Fantasy football is different from the real game, of course, but it's still always amazing to see your starting quarterback at the bottom of the list.

Fanduel, a gambling website, released its fantasy football quarterback rankings and Tannehill ranked No. 30 out of 32 starts.

Ouch.

Here's how Fanduel ranked the NFL's 32 starting quarterbacks in their initial fantasy rankings for the season:

Fanduel's fantasy football rankings for quarterbacks

1. Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles
2. Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills
3. Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
4. Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens
5. Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers
6. Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals
7. Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars
8. Justin Fields, Chicago Bears
9. DeShaun Watson, Cleveland Browns
10. Anthony Richardson, Indianapolis Colts
11. Daniel Jones, New York Giants
12. Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys
13. Kirk Cousins, Minnesota Vikings
14. Russell Wilson, Denver Broncos
15. Aaron Rodgers, New York Jets
16. Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams
17. Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers
18. Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh Steelers
19. Derek Carr, New Orleans Saints
20. Tua Tagovaiola, Miami Dolphins 
21. Jared Goff, Detroit Lions
22. Geno Smith, Seattle Seahawks
23. Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers
24. Desmond Ridder, Atlanta Falcons
25. C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans
26. Mac Jones, New England Patriots
27. Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers
28. Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals
29. Sam Howell, Washington Commanders
30. Ryan Tannehill, Tennessee Titans
31. Jimmy Garoppolo, Las Vegas Raiders
32. Kyle Trask, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

It's just fantasy rankings, of course, so it doesn't really mean a whole lot. But still, No. 30? And what about real life? ESPN put together a top-10 list of quarterbacks ranked in 10 different categories, and Tannehill wasn't in any of them.

Tannehill, however, has won a lot of games as an NFL starting quarterback, and he's been a part of several Titans' playoff teams. Last year turned disastrous, bu the was also hurt too, getting beat up every game behind the worst offensive line in football.

The 2022 season ended disastrously, losing the Jacksonville on the final weekend to miss out on the playoffs. And even though the Titans have picked quarterbacks in each of the past two NFL Drafts — Malik Willis in the third round in 2022 and Will Levis in the second round this year — this is still Tannehill's team.

And inside the Titans' locker room, he still has plenty of support. And frankly, that's all the really matters.

"We don't care about any of those things. All we care about is what goes on in this building, and Ryan has been great this whole offseason,'' Titans wide receiver Treylon Burks said a few weeks ago. "We know what Ryan can do, and we've been doing a lot of good things already (in training camp).''

Tannehill has been full engaged all offseason after successful ankle surgery. He's been throwing to his guys for months, played a big role in getting DeAndre Hopkins to Nashville and has looked good in 11 vs. 11 drills in camp against a good Titans defense.

Granted, as I've told you before, I am an optimist by nature. A glass-half-full guy. I think a fully healthy Titans offense — with subtle improvements on the offensive line and massive improvements at offensive coordinator with Tim Kelly — can score enough points to win games. Tannehill is a big part of that. He has days — like Monday — where he looks great.

He still gives the Titans the best chance to win games. There will be a day when Levis or Willis — or somebody else — takes the reigns of this team. but that day is not today. It's still Tannehill's team.

He's no top-10 fantasy QB, because he's still going to hand the ball off to Derrick Henry a lot, but he's also nowhere near No. 30. 

I'm not telling you to pick Tannehill for your fantasy team, but I can see 10 other names from 10-to-25 on this list that don't make sense to me. I'd take Tannehill over all of them.

Ryan Tannehill is not among the worst two or three quarterbacks in the NFL. And if he stays healthy, we'll see that during the first few months of the season for sure. 

He's going to prove some doubters wrong.