The Houston Texans may have been atrocious in 2022, but the 3-13-1 campaign provided a stage for Laremy Tunsil to shine.
The former Miami Dolphins 2016 first-round pick played all 17 games for the first time in his career and tacked on his third career Pro Bowl selection. Despite the mounting losses surrounding Tunsil, it never seemed to affect his performance.
According to Doug Farrar from the Touchdown Wire, Tunsil ranked as the fourth-best offensive tackle on his list of best in the NFL. Only Trent Williams, Lane Johnson, and Terron Armstead were ahead of the Texans’ blindside protector.
Tunsil was limited to just five games in 2021, but returned strong last season, allowing just one sack, three quarterback hits, and 13 quarterback hurries in 562 pass-blocking reps. That sack, one hit, and 11 hurries came out of 259 True Pass Sets.
Tunsil is so good in pass protection because he present an ideal combination of kick-step precision, and fire-out aggression. He negated Jacksonville’s Josh Allen with just such a combination in Week 17.
Tunsil is also quite adept at getting his hands out and “shocking” a pass-rusher off his leverage, as he did against Dante Fowler Jr. of the Cowboys in Week 14.
Tunsil is also a live wire as a run-blocker; he’s quite happy to latch on to a defender through the rep, no matter how long it goes.
The production of Dameon Pierce may have been what sold the rest of the league on Tunsil’s dominance. The rookie running back generated 939 rushing yards through 13 games. Although the rest of the Texans’ offense sputtered, it was evident Pierce was the lone spark — and he got a boost from Tunsil on the edge.
As the Texans transition to a younger quarterback in C.J. Stroud, the expectation is Tunsil will still play at a high level to give the former Ohio State product a smoother entry to the pro game.
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