Laremy Tunsil has shaped the NFL as it is today, specifically with the NFL Draft concluding recently. His impact can be seen on four separate teams whose fates have changed due to Tunsil’s presence in the NFL. 

How is this possible with a player who has only played for two teams you ask? 

The first instance of his impact starts when Tunsil was drafted. On draft day in 2016, a tweet was sent from Tunsil’s Twitter account depicting him smoking a substance out of a gas-mask bong. This was posted a mere ten minutes before the draft was scheduled to begin. With this tweet posted, Tunsil, a projected top-five pick, then plummeted due to teams taking him off their draft boards due to the photo that was posted. Teams in need of an offensive tackle chose to pick other players due to the photo, and the Dolphins were able to land Tunsil at pick 13. There he started at guard as a rookie before being moved to tackle in 2017. After three seasons with the team, the Dolphins traded Tunsil to the Houston Texans for a massive haul.

However, the impact goes even further than the Miami Dolphins and the Houston Texans due to trades that took place since Tunsil himself was traded from the Dolphins to the Texans in 2019. The original trade that took place between these two teams was as follows: Tunsil, Kenny Stills third-round and a fourth-round pick were traded for two first-round picks (2020, 2021), a second-round pick (2021), Johnson Bademosi and Julien Davenport. In hindsight, this trade is a complete proliferation of picks by the Miami Dolphins as Houston’s first-round pick in 2021 would be highly valuable due to the team cratering in the standings following an appearance in the AFC Divisional Round the year prior. This pick eventually landed at number three overall in the Draft allowing Miami to explore trades. 

One such trade the Dolphins accepted was a trade with the San Francisco 49ers. The deal involved a pick swap this year between the teams as the 49ers moved up to the number three overall spot and the Dolphins moved back to number the 12 overall pick. Along with this swapping of picks, Miami picked up two additional first-round picks in 2022 and 2023 as well as a third-round pick in 2022.

This value alone for one of the picks in the Tunsil trade is a massive win for Miami as this year’s draft was top-heavy with quarterbacks and as it stands they do not need a quarterback as they have former first-round pick Tua Tagovailoa coming off of his promising, yet restrained, rookie season.

The 49ers subsequently picked quarterback Trey Lance at third overall in an attempt to maximize their window for a Super Bowl with their elite defense and wunderkind head coach Kyle Shanahan.

With this insane amount of draft capital, Miami was not finished yet. In a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles, the Dolphins moved to number six overall and acquired a fifth-round pick. The Eagles were able to acquire a future first-round pick for the small price of moving back to the twelfth spot. This move to sixth overall let Miami have their pick of skill players available as quarterbacks would account for half of the draft selections in the first six picks. Miami selected Alabama wide receiver Jaylen Waddle at six, giving their young quarterback a phenomenal, and familiar, weapon to grow with.

Miami was also able to use the Texan’s second-round pick this year to select Oregon safety Jevon Holland at 36th overall.

The trades were not completed at the beginning of the draft. During the night of the draft, the Dallas Cowboys held their pick for dear life until it was made clear they would not acquire a highly rated cornerback that they desired with the tenth overall pick. Due to this, they forged a trade with the Eagles who lay claim to the 12th overall pick. A quick pick swap between the two facilitated by the Eagles gave Dallas a third round selection to allow the Eagles to take wide receiver DeVonta Smith with their newly acquired tenth overall. Another familiar wide receiver to pair with a young quarterback, this time about one thousand miles north.

To recap, Tunsil’s impact on the league starts on day one of his professional career and will be felt for years to come depending on how Miami’s picks pan out. If not for the tweet of Tunsil smoking out of the gas-mask bong, Miami certainly wouldn’t be in the position they are in now due to Tunsil falling into their lap at 13th overall in the 2016 draft.

Dolphins general manager Chris Grier put on a masterclass display of assessing value and acquiring draft capital for players who may not have been in the future plans for Miami as well as flipping premium draft picks for more draft capital.

Tunsil's career has allowed Miami to rebuild their team with premium talent, it led to the 49ers selecting their quarterback of the future and it led to the Eagles building draft capital for the future and taking a Heisman winning wide receiver. 

This gift will keep on giving as the Dolphins still hold two first-round picks in 2022 as well as 2023 after having two selections in the first round in 2021 and three in the first round the year prior. The only loser in this situation appears to be the Texans as they have fallen into rebuilding mode without having draft capital to rebuild.