He can slide anywhere across the field.”Īsk Culley or James to compare him to some of the recent standouts at tackle, or the all-time greats, and they struggle to come up with a name. What makes him so special is not only is he super strong, but his feet are ridiculous. You just tell him, ‘Don’t let him make a play,’ and he’s doing that. He just did it to Myles Garrett this year. “You can have him on one side, man-to-man, no matter who it is. “He’s like a shutdown corner at tackle,” says James, currently with the Ravens. But he does, and Tunsil’s former teammate in Miami Ja’Wuan James raves about his “typewriter” feet and compares the big guy’s talent to that of a Darrelle Revis, who once upon a time made the game’s best wide outs disappear on Revis Island. Listed at 6-foot-5 and 313 pounds, Tunsil shouldn’t be able to move laterally or recover as quickly as he does against faster, more agile opponents. “He’s got footwork like a skill guy,” says Texans head coach David Culley. A gifted pass blocker and a two-time Pro Bowler with supreme foot speed, Tunsil has the ability to mirror a pass rusher’s feet and regain his footing on the off chance he misses a critical step. “I’m the best left tackle in the NFL,” he boasts unapologetically. We can argue who actually deserves the subjective honor, but Tunsil’s 100 percent in the mix, and he 1,000 percent does not think it’s up for debate. And that’s why I’m talking about the situation, because clearly I’m over that.”įor those who haven’t been paying attention, Tunsil is arguably the best player at his position in the NFL. “I’m in a better place, I’m in a better mindset, and, bro, I’m really done with that. “I don’t want the past to have any control over me,” says Tunsil. Confident in his abilities on the field and content in his evolution off of it, he’s taking a few beats to appreciate how far he’s come from one of the worst introductions in NFL history. A natural introvert who prefers to keep his head down and just take care of business, Tunsil, like all the best blockers, is now out in front of the narrative. Having stayed silent about it for all this time, and sick of the stigma attached to him as the gas mask guy, Tunsil long ago put the jarring incident in his rear-view mirror-and his standing in the game certainly shows it.īut getting to the point where he was comfortable talking-besides with friends, family, and trusted teammates-about the night pictures and video of him smoking marijuana out of a gas mask bong stained his reputation, caused his draft stock to nosedive, and robbed him of millions was a process. 13 when he should’ve been selected way earlier. “I don’t wish that situation, that experience on nobody else.”Īlmost six years and a whole lot of determination, dedication, and reflection later, Laremy Tunsil is finally ready to talk about the incident-the mistake-that caused him to fall to the Dolphins at No. “Probably one of the worst feelings I ever experienced in my life,” says Tunsil. “Listen, don’t panic,” his agent quietly told him. Sitting in the green room at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago, moments before he was about to realize his dream as a top selection in the draft, a nightmare crashed the party. But none of ’em-and I mean none of ’em-compare to what Tunsil went through on April 28, 2016. Players falling in the NFL Draft is a tradition unlike any other, and there have been some famous ones over the years, from Aaron Rodgers to Brady Quinn to Warren Sapp. When it was time to explain how one of the most insane, unfair ordeals in NFL Draft history happened, impossibly, he looked poised, polished, and composed. But the reality is that evening, with the whole world laughing at him and NFL teams scrambling to figure out what the hell was really going on with one of the top prospects in the draft, Tunsil tried to suppress every awful emotion coursing through his body as he watched the unimaginable unfold. Because that’s the kind of person he is, preferring not to project his problems and feelings onto others. If you asked Tunsil how he was doing on the biggest, most important night of his life, which was supposed to be a celebration of his talents and his coronation as the cornerstone of an NFL franchise, he would’ve lied to you. It’s a term he only recently adopted, an upgrade over his former favorite response-“straight”-which he’d break out whenever someone asked him for a status update. To Tunsil, solid means he’s chilling, that he’s running around with no complaints. Solid, according to the best left tackle in football, means something different than what it says in the dictionary. “Solid,” he warmly responds in a voice that almost makes him sound like the north Florida version of Freddie Gibbs.
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