Dolphins' Laremy Tunsil trade gets even better with latest Texans loss

A 2019 trade between the Miami Dolphins and Houston Texans looks like even more of a steal for the Dolphins after Sunday’s action.

In August 2019, the Dolphins traded offensive lineman Laremy Tunsil to the Houston Texans in exchange for a huge draft pick haul. At the time, the deal appeared to make sense for both teams. The Texans were playoff contenders, while the Dolphins were considered likely to be a factor for the No. 1 overall pick in the draft.

The tables have turned since then. The Dolphins suddenly have a good chance of making the playoffs, while the Texans look poised to embark on a full rebuild. Houston will have to do that without its top two picks in the 2021 NFL Draft as a result of that trade. And it gets worse: thanks to the Texans’ loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, their pick, which belongs to the Dolphins, will fall in the top five. That means the Dolphins may make the playoffs and grab a selection that could still be as high as third overall, while the flailing Texans won’t have a first or second-round pick next April.

Miami deserves huge credit for how quickly it rebuilt, using trades like this one to restock talent-wise. For the Texans, it’s proof they were headed for disaster even before Bill O’Brien’s failed tenure as general manager. They haven’t been well-run for a while, and there’s a reason they’re getting publicly laughed at these days.