'Whole New Vibe!' Texans’ Laremy Tunsil - One of Top 50 NFL Players?
Since being acquired from the Miami Dolphins in an August 2019 trade, left tackle Laremy Tunsil has been perhaps the only consistent bright spot for the Houston Texans organization, regularly grading out as one of the NFL's best left tackles. But how does Tunsil fit into the picture of the best overall players in the sport?
According to Pro Football Focus, Tunsil -- who is preparing for his eighth season -- is the 38th-best player in the NFL.
"Tunsil had a career year in 2022 as the rest of the Texans struggled," PFF wrote. "His 91.7 pass-blocking grade ranked first among all tackles, and he surrendered just 17 total pressures in 17 games over the season. Tunsil didn’t have a single bad game of pass protection all season and had six perfect games in that area."
Among offensive tackles, Trent Williams of the San Francisco 49ers was the highest-rated, coming in at No. 3 on PFF's list. Also ahead of Tunsil were Lane Johnson of the Philadelphia Eagles (No. 15), Tristian Wirfs of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (No. 26) and Andrew Thomas of the New York Giants (No. 32).
Still only 28, Tunsil is entering his fifth season in Houston. While he's individual had success with the Texans, Houston has won just 11 regular season games since an AFC Divisional Round loss in Kansas City in Tunsil's first campaign with the team in 2019.
However, there does appear to be renewed optimism in Houston. Former star linebacker DeMeco Ryans is in at head coach, and his six-year contract suggests that he'll be given more runway to work with than his two predecessors -- David Culley and Lovie Smith -- each of whom were fired after just one season on the job.
In an appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show" earlier this month, Tunsil was very complimentary of Ryans.
"DeMeco came in with that energy he brought from San Francisco and just changed the whole vibe around the building, and that's something that we needed," Tunsil said. "So DeMeco comes in the building, he brought some new coaches, we've got some new players. Man, it's just a whole new vibe that's in that building. It feels great to be there."
Additionally, the Texans used the No. 2 and No. 3 overall picks to draft quarterback C.J. Stroud and pass rusher Will Anderson Jr., both of whom could help Houston return to contention while Tunsil is still at the height of his powers. For the first time in a long time, Tunsil isn't the only reason for the Texans to feel optimistic.
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