A breakdown of stud 2016 NFL Draft prospect Laremy Tunsil
By Robert Ortiz
Standing at 6’5” and 305 lbs., Laremy Tunsil cuts an imposing figure, and is an intimidating presence at Left Tackle for the Ole Miss Rebels. Entering his Junior season for Ole Miss, Tunsil has had what many would call the dream career.
A 5-star recruit in High School, Laremy was the number one player in the nation at his position, a Consensus All American, and one of the most wanted players in America. Upon stepping onto campus in Oxford, Laremy quickly won the starting Left Tackle position, earning multiple accolades, including All-SEC(Second Team), Freshman All-American(First Team), and was one of only two true freshmen to earn the starting left Tackle positions at their respective schools in the country.
Tunsil followed up his stellar freshman season with a Sophomore season that was even better in some regards, showing improved strength and technique while earning multiple midseason All-American Honors before suffering a broken leg towards the end of the 2016 season. Despite all this, we’ve seen countless times where College Stars don’t have the skills to translate to the next level(Looking at you, Tebow), and I’m here to discuss why this is absolutely NOT the case for Tunsil.
Pass Protection
Many casual football fans see pass protection as “simple”. Just stand in the way of the guy for a few seconds until the Quarterback throws the ball. If only it were that simple. A multitude of things go into being a great pass protector, of which Laremy has all of them. Hand quickness, foot speed, consistent technique, hand placement, power, the list goes on. As Scouts Inc. of ESPN said in an article for Active.com in September, 2006, “There’s no position that requires more discipline or technique than offensive lineman.”, and I find this to be absolutely true. Were it any other year, Notre Dame’s Ronnie Stanley would far and away be the top Offensive Tackle in the NFL Draft, and that is a thought that I shared with many others. After watching film on Laremy Tunsil in depth, I’m not so sure of that anymore.
Laremy displays technique far beyond his 20 years of age, and his athleticism belies the fantastic playing strength he displays on film. First up is a clip from his game vs. Alabama(2015), against stout and athletic Junior Defensive End DJ Pettway:
Here, Tunsil shows fantastic quickness into his set, and a devastating punch that stops the defender in his tracks. From this angle of the same play, you can see Tunsil punches, but doesn’t let his hands die, something young Tackles have a tendency to do.
He keeps active hands, replacing them every time Pettway knocks them down, while maintaining a beautiful base, preventing Pettway from gaining any ground into the backfield and towards the QB. Or another example, this time against Preston Smith(Washington Redskins 2015 2nd round draft pick), a player I compared to Justin Tuck.
See how Tunsil explodes into his set, and redirects effortlessly? He displays a powerful base, and beautiful hand usage. He punches clean into the chest of Smith, and drives on the inside move with his post foot. Textbook technique from the Rebel.
Another thing many young players struggle with is redirecting to stunts/twists on the DL. Tunsil doesn’t have this problem. See here vs. LSU(2015), Tunsil is tasked with blocking Minnesota Vikings 3rd round pick and athletic freak Danielle Hunter(#94).
Throughout the game, Hunter has been giving Tunsil problems with his length and burst, although Tunsil has corralled him for the most part. Hunter comes off the line with a hard drive step upfield, then stunts inside with Davon Godchaux(#57) stunting outside to attack Tunsil. Laremy is heady enough to not bite on the stunt, and stonewalls Godchaux in his tracks, rather than chasing down on Hunter and leaving a clear lane to Bo Wallace for the DT. In all, Tunsil displays technique in pass protection that would rival most star NFL tackles, and plays with a demeanor fitting of a future top-5 pick. That being said, if you were to nitpick, Tunsil does anticipate the speed rush occasionally when lined up against athletic pass rushers, as most young tackles do, which leaves him vulnerable to an inside move, as seen here by LSU DE Danielle Hunter:
Although, I will say that this is one of the only times I saw him do this in the 4 games I watched, and it is not something I would worry over at all.
Run Blocking
If there was any area of Laremy Tunsil’s game I would have any questions about, it would be this category here. While Tunsil displays fantastic strength and hand placement in pass protection, he struggles with leverage at times in the run game, which negates any strength advantage he has. For example, see here against LSU(2015):
Laremy’s assignment seems to be that he is supposed to chip the DE in a combo block with the Full Back, then move up and clear out the first Linebacker that crosses his face, a simple double team really. While he gets solid movement on the down lineman, when Kendall Beckwith(#52) blitzes, Laremy peels off to make the block. Problem is, his pad level rises, giving Beckwith a clean shot at his chest, driving Tunsil back and blowing up the play. If Tunsil stays low and attacks Beckwith, there is no way Beckwith can withstand the block straight up.
Another problem I see is that, at times, Tunsil needs to work on head placement in run blocking. Ideally, you keep your head/body in between the defender and where the play is designed to go, to cut the defender off.
Here, against Preston Smith from Mississippi State(2015), Tunsil uncoils rapidly, getting a good pop, and drives his feet. But, he loses leverage against a player who is an inch taller, and then fails to cut Smith off from the ball, letting Smith cross his face. While yes, the play was blown up on the playside, which was opposite of Laremy, you still want to see proper technique on plays like this. I must admit though, when it comes to blocking in space on the second level, Laremy is one of the best I’ve come across.
See here again against Mississippi State(2015), Laremy feigns a down block, then peels off to lead the Running Back up field. While we lose sight of him for a few seconds, you can see that he tracks the Corner well, and engages. This isn’t the only time I’ve seen Tunsil do this. For example, vs. LSU(2015):
Tunsil sets up for pass, then leaks out to block on a screen pass downfield. Laremy tracks the Outside Linebacker(Kwon Alexander, Buccaneers 2015 4th rd. draft pick) into the flat and drives into him, forcing a lane open for Laquon Treadwell to exploit for a sizeable gain.
Summary
Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
All in all, Laremy Tunsil is a fantastic prospect, one very worthy of a top 5 selection. While there are certain things he can work on to take his game to the next level, they are all little technique changes that need to occur, which is a lot easier to fix than any physical or mental shortcomings, neither of which Tunsil seems to have. If I were to give Laremy a Pro Player comparison, I would go with Russell Okung from the Seattle Seahawks, although, as Duke Manyweather(@BigDuke50) pointed out, Tunsil may actually have better technique than the former Pro-Bowler and 4 year pro. Tunsil is a player I wouldn’t hesitate to pound the table for at 1st overall, and I can easily see him becoming a perennial All-Pro.
Games watched:
LSU, Mississippi State, Alabama, TCU, all from the 2015 season courtesy of the fantastic video editors over at www.draftbreakdown.com