Commanders Need New Tackle To Improve At One Thing

Commanders Need New Tackle To Improve At One Thing originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

Laremy Tunsil may have been a Pro Bowl left tackle last season, but his final year with the Houston Texans was anything but smooth.

Tunsil had one of his worst seasons in the NFL last year and was a part of one of the worst offensive lines as well. Young quarterback C.J. Stroud was running for his life repeatedly all season, and it left Houston to try and find solutions elsewhere.

That was a key reason why they shipped Tunsil to the Washington Commanders this offseason in a major offseason trade. For Washington, they needed a veteran tackle who could anchor their offensive line.

Tunsil may be the perfect guy in that case.

But …

Just because Tunsil is a Pro Bowl player doesn’t mean he’s without a flaw.

Indeed. ESPN analyst Bill Barnwell looked into what Tunsil needed to do in order to get better with the Commanders this season.

“He (Tunsil) had some trouble with speed around the edge, as Will McDonald IV and James Houston were able to go outside him and create sacks of Stroud, even if they didn’t finish the job themselves,” Barnwell wrote.

That isn’t a secret to the Commanders; they are well aware of players’ strengths and weaknesses.

But it is not the best news for Washington – pending Tunsil fixing up a flaw.

The NFC East has plenty of quality speed rushers like Nolan Smith, Brian Burns, and Micah Parsons. These stars could make life miserable for the Commanders.

But if Tunsil can shore that up, Washington’s offense should remain among the elites in the sport through the 2025 season.

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 5, 2025, where it first appeared.

Commanders Need New Tackle To Improve At One Thing

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