Tracking the Laremy Tunsil draft picks

To say the Miami Dolphins have been active in the 2021 NFL Draft - which is still over a week away - would be an understatement. The Dolphins have already made two trades in the first round this year, and are rumored to be considering at least one more deal. They took the third-overall pick, turned it into the 12th pick from the San Francisco 49ers, then moved that pick to get back up to the sixth-overall position from the Philadelphia Eagles. Now, they could be looking to move back a little and add more assets, either for this year’s Draft or possibly more for the 2022 or 2023 selection meeting.

That third-overall pick Miami traded to the 49ers was not Miami’s original pick, however. That pick came from the Houston Texans as part of a 2019 trade sending offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil and wide receiver Kenny Stills from Miami to Houston. That trade - and actually one before it - continues to build assets for the Dolphins. Exactly what has Miami received in all of these moves? It is time to trace the Laremy Tunsil trade.

Rewinding to the 2016 NFL Draft, the Dolphins originally held the eighth-overall pick but traded it to the Eagles in March before the Draft, receiving linebacker Kiko Alonso, cornerback Byron Maxwell, and the 13th-overall pick. On April 28, as the first round of the Draft began, a video leaked of Ole Miss offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil wearing a gas mask attached to a bong as well as screenshots of a communication with where Tunsil asked for money to assist with rent and his mothers’ bills. The video and picture sent waves through the Draft, and suddenly Tunsil, considered the best offensive tackle prospect that year, fell.

The Dolphins used the 13th pick on Tunsil, playing him at guard his rookie season before installing him as the team’s left tackle in 2017.

In August 2019, the Houston Texans continued to increase a trade offer for Tunsil, ultimately leading to Miami accepting a deal that sent Tunsil, Stills, a 2020 fourth-round pick, and a 2021 sixth-round pick to Houston in exchange for a 2020 first-round pick, 2021 first- and second-round picks, cornerback Johnson Bademosi, and offensive lineman Julién Davenport. The Dolphins released Bademosi in October 2019. Davenport sustained a broken leg during the 2019 season, limiting him to just eight starts, then he appeared in 16 games in 2020 for Miami with one start. He signed as a free agent this offseason with the Indianapolis Colts.

The Texans waived Stills during the 2020 season. During his time with Houston, he caught 51 receptions for 705 yards with five touchdowns. He signed with the Buffalo Bills practice squad during the playoffs.

The picks received for Tunsil began with the first-round pick received during the 2020 NFL Draft. Miami traded that pick, the 26th overall, to the Green Bay Packers for the 30th-overall pick and the 136th pick, a fourth-round selection. They used the 30th pick to select cornerback Noah Igbinoghene.

The Dolphins then used the 136th pick, as well as the 141st pick, to trade up with Houston for the 111th pick, adding guard Solomon Kindley.

Which then brings us to the 2021 NFL Draft’s trades. Miami held the third-overall pick (Houston’s first-round selection) and 36th-overall pick (Houston’s second-round selection) from the Tunsil trade. The third pick was sent to the 49ers in exchange for the 12th pick as well as a 2022 first-round pick, a 2022 third-round pick, and a 2023 first-round pick.

The 12th pick, the 123rd-overall pick (fourth round), and Miami’s 2022 first-round pick were sent to the Philadelphia Eagles for the sixth-overall pick and the 156th pick (fifth round).

If Miami does nothing else with any of these picks, trading Laremy Tunsil, who fell to them with the 13th overall pick, has brought Miami:

Even Tunsil recognizes how insane this draft haul is becoming for the Dolphins following the trade. Buckeye Bean Sports on Instagram made an image of Tunsil as a statue in front of Hard Rock Stadium, to which Tunsil commented with laughing faces:

@BuckyBeanSports (IG) via @Safid_Deen (Twitter)

Of course, if the Dolphins continue to make trades using these picks, the statue may have to be updated.