Mike Tanier

New Jersey

NFL Writer and Analyst at Freelance

NFL Writer/editor/founder of Too Deep Zone. Formerly Football Outsiders, the New York Times, The Messenger, Bleacher Report and other ancient empires.

Articles

49ers All-Time Top 5 QBs Part II: Pretty, Pretty, Purdy Good.

1 week ago | miketanier.substack.com | Mike Tanier

Steve Young and Joe Montana took center stage in Part I. Now it’s time for all the guys who couldn’t win the big game despite superstar supporting casts or whose merits are defined in comparison to their immediate predecessors. It turns out 49ers quarterbacks have been dealing with such narratives since not long after the end of World War II.
49ers All-Time Top 5 QBs Part 1: YoungTana

1 week ago | miketanier.substack.com | Mike Tanier

To paraphrase Douglas Adams: 49ers quarterback history is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's hard to properly rank Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert, but that's just peanuts compared to 49ers quarterback history. Joe Montana, Steve Young, Bill Walsh and their interrelationships are the subjects of an intimidating array of histories and memoirs. There’s Best of Rivals by Adam Lazarus.
AFC Draft Performance Assessments 2025

2 weeks ago | miketanier.substack.com | Mike Tanier

Welcome to the 2025 AFC Draft Performance Assessments. Are you looking for the NFC DPAs? You will find them here. Are you wondering what DPAs are? They’re GRADES, okay? I spent 20 years in public education hearing buzzwords for “grades,” then the last 20 years on the NFL Internet being told how stupid draft grades were (by the folks reading and reacting to them). So I came up with this bit a few years ago. Now I am stuck with it. And finally coming clean does not feel liberating in any way.
NFC Draft Performance Assessments 2025

2 weeks ago | miketanier.substack.com | Mike Tanier

These are not draft grades. They are Draft Performance Assessments (DPAs). They are like draft grades, but 3000% better because they accurately reflect how subjective and superficial this whole process is they have a fancy name and a scientific veneer. And sub-categories; most readers actually find those helpful. The AFC DPAs are still baking and will be published bright and early on Tuesday morning.
Shedeur Sanders' Slide is Your Fault, Papa Prime

2 weeks ago | miketanier.substack.com | Mike Tanier

The NFL old-boy network operates at a sociological level somewhere between a herd of skittish wildebeests and a cafeteria table full of pimply middle school boys afraid to admit that they really like Taylor Swift. It’s a pack that is terrified of anything that threatens the hierarchical social order. So naturally NFL decision makers are wary of Deion Sanders, an apex predator in sheep’s clothing with a hungry mouth to feed.
Stop the Draft Coverage. I Want to Get Off.

3 weeks ago | miketanier.substack.com | Mike Tanier

Much study is a weariness of the flesh. — Ecclesiastes 12:12It all started when I sat down to write a profile on Indiana quarterback Kurtis Rourke. Do you remember Nathan Rourke, the superstar of the Jaguars’ 2023 preseason? Kurtis is Nathan’s brother. Nathan’s nickname is Kid Canada, which makes him sound like a sidekick for the Great Lakes Avengers.
Too Deep 96: The Master List

3 weeks ago | miketanier.substack.com | Mike Tanier

Here it is: the Too Deep 96 Master List! Bookmark it for easy reference on draft weekend!#1 Travis Hunter, CB/WR, Colorado. This dude is just better than everyone else. #2 Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise State. Saquon 2.0.#3 Abdul Carter, Edge, Penn State.Micah Parsons 2.0 #4 Derrick Harmon, Defensive Tackle, Oregon. I think the draft world is sleeping on him. #5 Mason Graham, Defensive Tackle, Michigan. Christian Wilkins 2.0. #6 Walter Nolen, Defensive Tackle, Ole Miss. Stunning lateral quickness. #7.
Too Deep 96 #96: Tyler Shough and Jalen Milroe (Tie)

3 weeks ago | miketanier.substack.com | Mike Tanier

The three-week extravaganza of predraft excess is finally coming to its merciful conclusion! This final installment covers a pair of quarterbacks who might be worth drafting in the third round for a team that is into drafting quarterbacks in the third round. Of course, the Saints are just about the only team that’s “into” drafting quarterbacks in the third round, and they had better not wait that long.
Too Deep 96 #86-#95: Senior Bowl Standouts and Snubs

4 weeks ago | miketanier.substack.com | Mike Tanier

Yay! We’re almost done! But we still have lots of interesting prospects to talk about. Fannin led the nation in receptions (117), yards (1,549) and YAC (900). He didn’t just lead all tight ends in these categories, mind you, he led the entire nation. His 19 broken tackles on receptions also led the nation, as did his 74 first down catches. He dropped just three passes. Bowling Green is a midmajor, but it is not St. Theresa’s Finishing School for the Puny or anything.
Too Deep 96 #76-#85: Welcome to the Round of Fun

4 weeks ago | miketanier.substack.com | Mike Tanier

This installment of the Too Deep 96 is loaded with offensive playmakers. But we kick things off with yet ANOTHER Buckeyes defender. Ransom is a combination slot corner and free safety. He can be very effective as a force defender on the edge of the formation or in coverage against top receiving tight ends. He whiffs on tackles now and then – a 13.3% broken/missed tackle rate in 2023 and 2024 – but he’s also more willing then most safeties to take on ballcarriers between the tackles.