Laremy Tunsil leads the NFL in false start penalties with 12. Though he says there is a target on his back, it’s clear that starting prematurely has been the Houston Texans left tackle’s crux.
On Sunday, Tunsil took three false start penalties in a 38-24 loss to the Denver Broncos, all in the first half. Postgame, Bill O’Brien stated the obvious: he has got to fix that.
“Laremy’s — he’s played very well, but he’s had too many penalties,” said O’Brien. “He would be the first one to tell you that. We’ve got to try to fix it. We’ve got to continue to try to help him to fix it. I think nobody feels worse about that than him. He’s a great guy. He’s a great player, but we’ve got to fix that.”
Tunsil has played the part of an elite tackle. Entering Sunday’s game, Pro Football Focus rated him as the second-best pass-protecting tackle in the NFL. However, no matter how good he can snap-to-snap, his false start issues are a liability — similar to Jadeveon Clowney’s offside tenancies.
Houston has time to get Tunsil in sync with Deshaun Watson. They have three more games before the playoffs, presuming they make the postseason. The final three games, including their two-game series with the Tennessee Titans, could write the ultimate fate for the 2019 team.