Who said Washington Commanders left tackle Laremy Tunsil wasn’t a leader?

Since the Commanders acquired Tunsil in the offseason, he immediately took first-round pick Josh Conerly Jr. under his wing. Conerly recently expressed gratitude for the extra work Tunsil has put in with him and believes it’s paying off.

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It’s been a difficult start to his NFL career for Conerly. In Week 1, he went up against Brian Burns and the New York Giants. Burns had two sacks, but Conerly showed signs of improvement throughout the game. Week 2 was a completely different story. Conerly struggled badly against Micah Parsons and the Green Bay Packers.

Washington hopes that was Conerly’s “Welcome to the NFL” moment. Things do not get any easier for Conerly this weekend as the Las Vegas Raiders come to town. That means a matchup with Maxx Crosby.

Tunsil was singing Conerly’s praises on Friday, comparing Conerly’s rookie season to his back in 2016.

“It probably took me a while,” Tunsil said. “I think when I first got over the hump was my third year in the league when I was with the Miami Dolphins. I was going against Robert Quinn, superstar defensive end who used to be with the Rams. I used to go against him every day when he was with Miami. Every day in practice, he used to kick my butt every day. I just had to learn. I had to adjust, I had to watch film, I had to switch up my technique. And I feel like it’s just a learning curve. He’ll get over that. Everybody gets over that. Everybody has to play well. All 11 of us has to be on the same page. It’s not just one guy.”

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Advice for Conerly after a bad play? “Keep your head up.”

Tunsil sees big things for Conerly and said that when he was a young player, he had some excellent veterans to lean on, and he wants to be that guy for Conerly.

Remember the rumors about Tunsil not being a great leader in Houston? Instead of admitting they didn’t want to give the 31-year-old Tunsil another new deal, the Texans made sure word got out about his lack of leadership.

Tunsil made it clear that whatever Conerly needs, whether it’s advice or anything else, he will be there for him. “That’s my little brother.”

Tunsil said he felt like he was put in Washington’s locker room to help all of the younger players, and he relishes passing on that veteran knowledge to others.

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It’s worth noting that Conerly is playing a new position in the NFL. And he’s facing world-class pass rushers, something Tunsil noted, saying Conerly deserved some “credit and some grace.”

Some advice from Tunsil:

“Don’t get on the bandwagon two or three years down the line when he’s an All-Pro. You want him with from the start because he’s going to be a great player.”

Tunsil’s words are music to the ears of head coach Dan Quinn and GM Adam Peters. His play will help him land another big deal, but his leadership doesn’t hurt either. Tunsil has been a model teammate already.

This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Washington Commanders: Laremy Tunsil proving to be the perfect leader