What LT Laremy Tunsil brings to the Washington Commanders

Examining what the Commanders are getting in LT Laremy Tunsil after his trade from the Texans

The Washington Commanders pulled off a huge trade on Monday, landing Texans left tackle Laremy Tunsil for a package of draft picks over the next two years. The Commanders were linked with multiple left tackles ahead of free agency, but with the top two tackles Ronnie Stanley and Alaric Jackson opting to re-sign with the Ravens and Rams respectively before free agency began, the Commanders were left looking for alternative options.

Tunsil has long been one of the premier left tackles in the league with few better than him in pass protection. The Texans are coming off a season in which the offense struggled and apparently have decided to completely overhaul their offensive line. Tunsil is 30 and will be 31 this season, so he’s not young. He’ll also likely be seeking a new contract, which won’t be cheap. The Texans have contract extensions coming up for a number of young stars like C.J Stroud, Will Anderson and Derek Stingley, so they wanted to clear the books.

That led to the Commanders trading a third round pick and seventh round pick this year along with second and fourth round picks in 2026 in exchange for Tunsil and a fourth round pick this year from the Texans. Lots of picks involved, but the Commanders managed to work a trade for a premier left tackle without giving up a first or second round pick this year. The overall value of the trade is about a second round pick.

So what are the Commanders getting in Tunsil? Let’s take a closer look.

When watching Tunsil, it becomes clear very quickly that his footwork is the basis for his pass protection prowess. He’s a fantastic athlete with very quick and smooth feet that enable him to cut off the fastest of speed rushers on the edge and redirect quickly to match various moves.

Tunsil works against Cowboys star pass rusher Micah Parsons on this play. I’ll begin by pointing out that the Cowboys only used Parsons against Tunsil a couple of times in this game and watching this play makes it clear why they’d try and match him up against someone else. Off the snap, Tunsil gets a terrific jump and is immediately into his kick slide. He’s very efficient with his feet, gaining width and depth quickly without any wasted movements. He doesn’t have any big or dramatic movement that could be exploited, it’s all tight and compact, but smooth at the same time.

Because of that, Tunsil is able to get out and cut off any threat of a speed rush from Parsons, who is perhaps the fastest speed rusher in the league. Parsons gets to his third step and recognizes this, so he abandons his plan to work to the edge and instead attempts to dive back inside. This is another test for Tunsil, but he handles it just as smoothly. Because of his compact and efficient movement, Tunsil is able to redirect his feet back inside with ease, cutting off Parsons and preventing him from bursting through. Tunsil then washes Parsons down the line, taking him out of the play.

Not many offensive lineman are able to make blocking Micah Parsons look so smooth and easy, but that is the level that Tunsil brings to the Commanders. His quick and efficient feet are the foundation for everything, They enable him to cut off speed rushers outside, but also position him to handle other types of rushes too. His feet aren’t the only good part of his game though. He’s also got good hands, which is necessary in pass protection.

On this play against the Chiefs, we can see an example of nearly ideal hand placement from Tunsil. The rusher off the edge works up the field and Tunsil positions himself to match any potential speed rush. The defender then looks to transition from a speed rush into more of a power rush, but Tunsil is able to handle it easily. He lands his outside hand on the outside pec of the defender, controlling the defenders ability to threaten the edge. He then follows that up by placing his inside hand almost under the inside armpit of the defender, giving him total control of the block. From there, Tunsil can sink his hips and drop anchor knowing he has his hands in place to control the defender and absorb any sort of power he might bring on the rush.

Hand placement is critical for offensive tackles as being just slightly off can leave you exposed. Tunsil is very precise in his hand placement and gets it right far more often than not. The other part of his hand fighting that stands out especially compared to the Commanders current group of left tackles is his ability to separate his hands and use them individually. One of the common criticisms I have of Brandon Coleman is his reliance on a two-handed punch, which sees him throw both hands at the same time. When it lands, it makes it a very strong punch that can knock defenders back, but it’s also very risky because if a defender uses a swipe or club, they can clear both hands at the same time. Tunsil shows much better technique in that regard.