Laremy Tunsil: a Dolphins legend, but not for his play on the field. Instead, Tunsil is a legend in Miami because his trade in 2016 is responsible for Miami’s future. How did a draft night mishap lead to the Dolphins turning Tunsil into four first-round picks?
With the Dolphins holding pick number 13, it can safely be said that he was never supposed to be a Dolphin. Many draft experts had Tunsil being the first non-quarterback selected at pick number three. However, Tunsil fell into the Dolphins lap when the presumptive top selection had a video of him smoking marijuana in a gas mask leaked onto the internet on draft night. When the gas mask video leaked, teams were scared away, but this didn’t stop the Dolphins from pulling the trigger when the star tackle was available at their pick.
“This is a guy who was ranked second on our board. We did not expect him to be here,” said Chris Grier, the Miami Dolphins general manager.
Tunsil was great for the Dolphins during his tenure in Miami. He played 44 games in three years with the team and was a key contributor during their 2016 playoff run. After being constantly asked about Tunsil, Miami got an offer that was too good to be true. On Aug. 31, 2019, Miami sent Laremy Tunsil and Kenny Stills to Houston for a 2020 first-round pick, a 2021 first-round pick and a 2021 second-round pick. Despite being a great player for the Dolphins, the offer was just too grand for the Dolphins to deny.
Tunsil even joked, “I would trade me for that.”
Tunsil wasn’t traded because he wasn’t playing well. He was traded because the Dolphins front office didn’t think paying big money was a great idea. The organization wanted to rebuild and get a fresh start. Consequently, the team shipped off two important players that were looking towards paydays. In addition to Tunsil, the Dolphins moved on from QB Ryan Tannehill and RB Kenyan Drake.
In 2020, Tunsil signed a colossal three-year, $66 million extension, making him the second highest paid left tackle in the NFL. Tannehill signed an enormous four-year, $118 million extension with the Titans in 2020. Drake recently signed a two-year, $11 million contract in free agency. If the Dolphins kept these three players, it would have cost them over $57 million per year.
Many believe he wasn’t worth what the Texans gave up for him, considering that they gave up two firsts and a second. In recent history, players traded for multiple firsts were superstars. These players include Khalil Mack, Jalen Ramsey and Jamal Adams. Many knew at the time that the Dolphins were robbing the Texans because no tackle in this league is worth two first-rounders. In 2019, Houston was 10-6, losing in the Divisional round to Kansas City, which gave the Dolphins pick number 26. Houston’s 4-12 season in 2020 was the cherry on top. Houston’s terrible record gave the Dolphins the third overall selection in the 2021 NFL Draft. After fleeing Houston, Chris Grier’s trading didn’t end here.
Using Houston’s number threepick, Miami was able to secure a trade that would solidify their future without hurting the present. On March 26, the Dolphins traded pick number three to San Francisco for pick number 12, their 2022 first-round pick, 2022 third-round pick and 2023 first-round pick — an absolute haul for the Dolphins.
Following their trade with the 49ers, the Dolphins moved back up into the top 10 by trading with Philadelphia. The Eagles traded number six and number 156 to Miami for number 12, number 123 and their 2022 first-round pick. Many are projecting the first four picks of this draft to be quarterbacks, and with the Dolphins building around QB Tua Tagovailoa, they were able to move down in the draft and still get the player that they want at number six, which many believe to be Ja’Marr Chase out of LSU and add an extra first round pick.
If the Dolphins make good selections in the draft, Chris Grier will have turned Tunsil into a future for the franchise. Just by the asset of one tackle that wasn’t even supposed to be on the team, the Dolphins were able to get four first-round picks, a second-round pick and a third-round pick.
– 2020 Texans First Round Pick: CB Noah Igbinoghene, Pick #30
– 2021 Eagles First Round: Pick #6
– 2021 Texans Second Round: Pick #36
– 2022 49ers First Round Pick: Pick TBA
– 2022 49ers Third Round Pick: Pick TBA
– 2023 49ers First Round Pick: Pick TBA
