Hell hath no fury like a multi-Pro Bowl left tackle scorned.
Laremy Tunsil was a forgotten bookend in the 2022 offseason. Whether it was the Houston Texans promoting Lovie Smith as coach after a 4-13 one-and-done job by David Culley, or that Tunsil only played in five games in 2021, the reputation of dominance was withering.
Sam Monson from Pro Football Focus ranked the tiers of offensive tackles in the 2022 offseason, and Tunsil was listed at No. 12 in a group called “very good starters” that also included the Cincinnati Bengals’ La’el Collins, the Indianapolis Colts’ Braden Smith, and the Green Bay Packers’ Elgton Jenkins — a trio that cobbled together just two Pro Bowls between them, the same number Tunsil had earned to that point in his career.
Tunsil stepped into the NFL as a reliable pass protector, and he’s developed into one of the best pass protecting tackles in the NFL in the six years since he was drafted 13th overall by the Miami Dolphins.
The 6-foot-5 tackle out of Ole Miss has earned 75.0-plus PFF grades in pass protection in each of his first six NFL seasons, culminating in 85-plus pass-blocking grades with the Texans in 2019 and 2020. Those results are made more impressive by what Tunsil was asked to do in pass protection in an offense that didn’t get the ball out quickly or slow down opposing pass rushes with play-action or screens.
He slides a bit on this list because he hasn’t been a dominant run blocker (no single-season run-blocking grades above 70.0 in six NFL seasons) and did miss time in 2021.
Tunsil read the article and subtly commented about the classification on Twitter.
Very good starter.
Ok.
— Laremy Tunsil (@KingTunsil78) May 17, 2022
More than just subtweeting, Tunsil took the evaluation to heart and used it as fuel to mount an astounding 2022 campaign that saw the former Miami Dolphins 2016 first-round pick play a season’s full complement of games for the first time in his career. Tunsil was named to his third Pro Bowl, and many felt he was snubbed from first-team All-Pro.
Tunsil did not hold back on March 22 at NRG Stadium when discussing his new extension on what motivated him last year.
“Y’all know what motivated me,” said Tunsil. “It was that little article that came out that called me a ‘very good starter.’ You know I didn’t like that one. That’s what motivated me still to this day. No matter if I’m the highest paid or not, that tweet or that article is always going to motivate me to be an even better player.”
The Texans have Tunsil and a new look offensive line that features former 2019 first-rounder Tytus Howard at right tackle, 2022 first-round Kenyon Green at left guard, former Super Bowl champion Shaq Mason at right guard, and Scott Quessenberry returning after playing 16 games at center for Houston.
