The Miami Dolphins have selected Ole Miss offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil with the No. 13 pick of the 2016 NFL Draft. Tunsil was projected by many outlets to go No. 1 overall but likely fell for two reasons: the Titans' decision to send the first pick to the QB-needy Rams, and the posting of a video to his Twitter account that showed him smoking from a bong.
From the top pick to the No. 13 pick, the Dolphins are getting a steal on paper. Tunsil was never mocked to go that low in the draft by anybody, but they are apparently not as concerned about the bong video as some might be. Two other offensive tackles, Ronnie Stanley and Jack Conklin, went before Tunsil in the first round.
Tunsil, 21 and a native of Lake City, Fla., only surrendered two sacks during his three-year collegiate career, though he did miss seven games last season as part of a brokered suspension by the NCAA for impermissible benefits. Most NFL executives appeared to have no concerns about his issues with the NCAA, however.
He also bolstered his draft stock with an impressive pro day performance in late March.
"He's long, he can cut grass with his feet," Titans general manager Jon Robinson said to NFL Network afterward. "He's strong, you can see him block a lot of good football players. It's easy to evaluate how athletic he is."
Although he elected not to run the 40 at either his pro day or the NFL Combine, Tunsil has shown that he's a nimble 310 pounds, and even caught a touchdown pass in the Sugar Bowl.
That said, Tunsil is far from a perfect prospect. Our own Stephen White considers him uber-talented but raw:
There were enough plays where Tunsil was pass blocking on an island one-on-one in those four games for me to give a decent evaluation on his abilities in that area.
Quite frankly, he has some work to do.
The good news is that what I did see is a guy who is comfortable out in space.
He also noticed that at times Tunsil didn't finish off plays. Tunsil has size, but he needs to add more bulk, and isn't considered one of the stronger tackles in the draft. There is room to grow, especially regarding his pass blocking in a league that loves to pass. But his footwork and athleticism helped make him one of the first offensive linemen drafted this year.
Before the Rams traded up, it was considered almost a sure thing that Tunsil would be going to the Titans. That trade didn't necessarily indicate that Tennessee didn't value the impressive tackle, though. The Titans acquired quite the draft haul in the trade: two picks in each of the first, second and third rounds.
Tunsil should be able to step in and immediately bolster Miami's offensive line.