Ryan Tannehill’s Fantasy Impact on the Tennessee Titans
In the middle of a 16-0 loss to the Denver Broncos, Tennessee Titans Head Coach Mike Vrabel benched starting quarterback Marcus Mariota in favor of backup Ryan Tannehill. The benching appears to be the end for Mariota as Titans starting quarterback despite being selected number two overall by Tennessee just four years ago.
Mariota has been pedestrian throughout his career after being dubbed the Titans, “franchise quarterback”. The Titans continued to give him chance after chance to prove himself, but yesterday’s performance (7/18, 63 yards and two interceptions) appeared to be the last straw.
I would anticipate Ryan Tannehill taking over as Titans starter this week. It’s been a topic of conversation in that building for a while now and a change at starter has become inevitable.
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) October 14, 2019
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With Tannehill now in as starting QB, Tennessee’s figures to have a more complete offense. That could be interpreted as my opinion, but if you’ve seen any of the Titans laughable passing attack with Mariota at the helm, you are with me on this one.
So what does this mean for the Titans in terms of fantasy football? Well, you have to figure receivers Corey Davis, A.J. Brown, Dion Lewis (receiving back) and Adam Humphries have a better outlook.
Titans offensive coordinator Arthur Smith still wants to run the ball with Derrick Henry, but having a quarterback who is more willing to throw the ball downfield will certainly help everyone involved. Henry won’t have to face eight men in the box, Corey Davis will be able to catch a ball beyond 10 yards, and A.J. Brown could end up having a monster rookie season after a promising start. It is still yet to be seen how much of an upgrade Tannehill is over Mariota, but from yesterday’s action you can tell Tennessee is much better off with him under center.
And no, I am not saying that the Titans are going to become this all-world offense, but the potential appears to be much higher. A better quarterback equals less three-and-outs, more yardage, more touchdowns: therefore the entire Titans offense is on an upward trajectory at the moment. I would wait and see what happens in their matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers in week 7, but be prepared to head to your waiver wire and pick up Corey Davis or A.J. Brown. Either could become a favorite of Tannehill’s and become a useful addition to your team down the stretch.
Ryan Tannehill target distribution (including penalty plays):
C Davis – 4
A Brown – 3
A Humphries – 3
D Lewis – 2
D Walker – 2
D Jennings – 1
J Smith – 1
A Firsker – 1
T Sharpe – 1— Mike Clay (@MikeClayNFL) October 14, 2019
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-Jarrod Ribaudo (@Jribs53)