Texans acquire Laremy Tunsil

https://www.si.com/nfl/2019/09/02/n...-tunsil-bill-obrien-seahawks-jadeveon-clowney

I asked O’Brien on Sunday, via text, for perspective on the Texans’ moves—about a month after we had that talk about the pressure on the core guys to win.

“We are committed to continually trying to get better in all ways,” he explained. “The roster is just one way to do that. There are tons of other ways to get better. Every part of our building is continually trying to get better.”

O’Brien’s point is well-taken, but that doesn’t make the move for Laremy Tunsil any less seismic. The Texans gave up two first-round picks and a second-round pick to get him (with Kenny Stills, and fourth- and sixth-rounders coming too, and Johnson Bademosi and Julien Davenport going to Miami), which means, barring more big trades, Houston will go through three draft cycles in four years (2018, ’20, ’21) without picks in the first two rounds.

The risk there is obvious. A team’s young, cost-controlled talent comes from those early rounds, and losing high picks cuts down on both a team’s margin for error in college scouting and flexibility to move around the board. Magnifying it is the fact that Deshaun Watson won’t be on a rookie deal for much longer, meaning filling out the roster with young players, from a cap perspective, will become more of a necessity. It’s why the Eagles, with Carson Wentz off his rookie deal, are now stockpiling, rather than dealing, their picks.

All of it begs the question: How did the Texans get here, having to deal far more than the Browns did for Odell Beckham or the Bears did for Khalil Mack to land a left tackle?

Here, as best I can ascertain it, was their process.

• It was impossible for anyone to prepare for the loss of franchise left tackle Duane Brown, who was haphazardly traded to Seattle in 2017 after the offensive lineman spoke up against the elder McNair stepping into the anthem controversy with his comment referring to NFL protests as “inmates running the prison.” Players like Brown are hard to replace—Texans personnel studied the draft and free agency, proving as such to the team‘s brass.

• Trent Brown, Nate Solder and Russell Okung were the three legit left tackles to hit the market the last three years, and each signed a record-breaking deal. Each is a good, but maybe not great player.

• The top tackle in next year’s draft, Georgia’s Andrew Thomas, is likely to go well before where the Texans would expect to be drafting. Moving up to draft him would be expensive, as it was to go up for Watson two years ago.

• Though the team had discussed Tunsil before, Andrew Luck’s retirement crystallized things for the Texans—the beating he took literally pushed the Colts star out of football. Watson, to this point, has taken a similar pounding. And that had to stop.

• Tunsil is widely seen as one of the top-five left tackles in the game. He may not be an in-prime Trent Williams or Tyron Smith, but he’s not far off from that, and the Texans see him as a better player than Brown, Solder and Okung, and better than what Thomas projects to be. He checked the other boxes for the Texans, as a young, ascending player, a good locker room guy and an elite pass protector.

Put together the circumstances, and the Texans knew they’d have to overpay, but were O.K. with it for someone they believed was a true blue-chipper. It’s fair, of course, to question the move when looking at the two linemen Houston took in the first two rounds. Tytus Howard and Max Sharping were thought to be potential bookends at tackle. The team now sees Howard as the right tackle of the future and Sharping settling in at guard, where he may start against the Saints in Week 1.

O’Brien wanted to pull every lever—and he certainly did that.

There’s more collateral damage in the $5.5 million spent on ex-Vikings, ex-Panthers and now ex-Texans left tackle Matt Kalil, and now there’s a flying-by-the-seat-of-their-pants look to the team’s work on its offensive line the last six months.

Yet, if Tunsil plays like the top-five tackle he has been, and Howard and Sharping find starting jobs in time, and Watson grows as a result of it, maybe all of this won’t matter.

All we know for sure right now is the sense of urgency we referenced earlier will be there in Houston in 2019. As will all the pressure that comes with it.

 

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.c...prediction-nfl-fmia-peter-king/?cid=rotoworld

Lots to unpack in the Tunsil-to-Houston deal. Houston probably overpaid for left tackle Laremy Tunsil, but not by much. I’ll vehemently disagree with those who say Houston got robbed. Houston gave up two first-round picks and a second, plus two marginal players, and got Tunsil, a 25-year-old quality long-term left tackle, durable receiver Kenny Stills (missed two of 99 career games with injuries) and fourth and sixth-round picks. Say the Texans give the 20th pick in 2020 and the 20th and 52nd picks in 2021. A long-term left tackle is certainly worth two mid-round ones.

As for the second-round pick, Houston will be glad to have Stills for the next two seasons at the slightly inflated tab of $15-million total, because they’ve had major injury issues beyond Deandre Hopkins. Miami’s fourth and sixth-round picks will be near the top of each round. So Miami probably wins a deal of a mid-round two for Stills, a four and a six, but it’s not awfully lopsided at all.

HOWEVER (and there’s a reason I all-capped that word), the Texans blew the business part of it. Where Houston erred here is not even trying to get a contract extension done with Tunsil. He is due $12.5-million over the next two seasons. Last year, when Khalil Mack was in the process of being traded from Oakland to Chicago, the Bears got a new contract done with Mack before making the mega-trade. Bill O’Brien, or someone inside the GM-less Texans, should have told Tunsil and his agent: We’ll do this deal with Miami, and we really want you, but only if you extend your contract for five years at $18-million average, with $50 million guaranteed. And you’ve got six hours to decide. I’m guessing at the numbers, but for a guy about to make $2.15 million in his fourth NFL season, at 25, playing for the worst team in the league, well, that doesn’t seem like much of a decision to me. And Houston got nothing done with his contract. That means if Tunsil is as good as Houston thinks this year, the Texans will owe him a lot more in 2020 or ’21 when they’ve got to pay him. But the Texans had a desperate need at left tackle, couldn’t get to first base with Washington on Trent Williams, and will have one of the best young tackles in the game protecting Deshaun Watson this year. That matters.

 

Bill O'Brien: 'We're committed to getting better in all ways. The roster is just one way to do that.'

Bill O'Brien meeting with the media now. "I feel really good about getting a proven left tackle to protect Deshaun Watson. They're hard to draft, hard to develop."

Bill O'Brien: 'We have new players boarding into our culture now. I feel really good about being able to get a proven left tackle to protect Deshaun Watson. Laremy Tunsil is an excellent player, really good guy, been good getting to know him.'

Bill O'Brien: 'We feel like we've upgraded our wide receiver corps. These moves were part of a plan and well thought out. It is not just a plan to improve the roster for 2019, a plan for years to come.'

O'Brien said this is an internal plan that has been in the works for a while. Should improve the #Texans for years to come.

Bill O'Brien: Kenny Stills wears No. 12, Laremy Tunsil No. 78

Asked if Texans tried to sign Tunsil to an extension, O'Brien said he will never discuss contract details.

Bill O'Brien on if team tried to sign Laremy Tunsil to contract extension, declined to discuss any player's contract

Bill O'Brien on the trade vs. value of the picks: 'We brought in some proven players.'

Bill O'Brien on Laremy Tunsil: 'Smart, tough, dependable.'

O'Brien on successful roster building: "There's a lot that goes into that. You look at your team currently. You look at the contract situation, the productivity, the health situation of everyone on your team, the philosophy, potential free agents. It's a lot of different things."

Bill O'Brien on Kenny Stills as a player and kneeling as a player: 'As a player, excellent speed, can run all the routes on the outside, versatile wide receiver, got good hands, smooth route runner, combination of speed and route-running ability'

Bill O'Brien on Kenny Stills: 'Relative to social justice initiatives, I love the players, I have the players' back. I'm not going to get into any discussions with players. I support social justice initiatives.'

O'Brien on Tunsil: "He's played guard before — but we're not going to line him up at guard, unless we have to" #Texans

O'Brien: "Laremy was a very popular guy in Miami. And I think that's because Laremy was Laremy." Said he was himself and brought his lunchpail every day

Bill O'Brien on aggressive style of four trades: 'We put a lot of thought into that.'

O'Brien said he believes Texans' leaders will respond well to changes. Hasn't spoken to them yet, since team was off during weekend.

"I think the offensive line is trending in the right direction. But I wouldn't say we're ready to go relative to health."

 

Also : O'Brien on Tunsil: "He's played guard before — but we're not going to line him up at guard, unless we have to" #Texans