It’s not as if Tunsil is regressing, as he was still dominant in pass protection a year ago. Penalties were an issue. Tunsil was flagged for an NFL-high 17 penalties, but 15 were pre-snap penalties. While NFL teams would prefer those numbers come down, pre-snap penalties are extremely fixable.

How dominant was Tunsil in pass protection?

Those penalties didn’t scare off Washington general manager Adam Peters, nor the panel of NFL coaches, scouts and executives who rank the best players at every position for ESPN. That panel recently ranked the top 10 offensive tackles, and Tunsil came in at No. 7.

Tunsil has long performed like a top-five tackle on our list, but miscues and the Texans’ offensive line struggles hurt his case this time around. He has three consecutive seasons of committing at least 10 penalties, including 19 in 2024, according to NFLPenalties.com.

Evaluators still love his combination of footwork, agility and violence – and so did the Washington Commanders, who acquired Tunsil and a fourth-round pick in March in exchange for a package of Day 2 and 3 picks.

“Washington wouldn’t have done what they did if he wasn’t immensely talented,” an NFL personnel director said. “With the penalties, when they happen they seem to pile up, which makes you wonder whether he has the mental strength to wash the bad plays and move on.”