Miami Dolphins trade of Laremy Tunsil may not end until 2023
By Brian Miller
The Miami Dolphins didn’t want to trade Laremy Tunsil to the Houston Texans but Chris Grier has to be thrilled at what has come out of that deal.
With the 2021 NFL Draft now over, the bulk of the picks delivered to Miami in an Amazon truck, are now done but that is not really the case. The Dolphins have turned the draft picks into more picks. Now, with this draft over, we can take a look at what the Tunsil trade has brought the Dolphins so far.
The trade sent Tunsil, Kenny Stills, a 2020 4th round pick, and a 2021 6th round pick to the Texans for first and second-round picks in 2021 and a first in 2020 as well as two players, Julien Davenport and Johnson Bademosi. Bademosi wouldn’t make it through the season and Davenport played 16 games last year for Miami.
The value of this trade for the Dolphins was never the players they got in return. They got good play from Davenport for the year he was healthy (broke his leg in 2019) but this trade was about the draft picks.
Miami would trade the 26th overall pick in 2020 to the Green Bay Packers who drafted Jordan Love and thus created a world of a mess with Aaron Rodgers. They also received a 4th round pick in that deal. Miami drafted Noah Igbinoghene in round one at 30 and traded the 4th round pick to the Texans to move up and take Solomon Kindley.
The 2020 portion of the Dolphins trade for Tunsil looks like this:
Noah Igbinoghene and Solomon Kindley
Weeks before the 2021 draft started, the Dolphins used the 3rd overall pick acquired in the trade for Tunsil to drop to 12th in a trade with San Francisco and then moved back up to six overall.
The trade to 12 gained Miami a first in 2022 and 2023 as well as a 2022 3rd round pick. They would trade the 12th overall pick to Philadelphia as well as their own 4th round pick this year and the 2022 first-round pick they acquired from San Francisco. In return, they moved back up to the sixth spot and added a 5th round pick this year.
The Dolphins would trade the 5th round pick to Pittsburgh for a 4th round pick next year.
The 2021 portion of the trade looks like this:
Jaylen Waddle and Jevon Holland
So what is left?
Miami is still banking draft capital for the future. The 3rd overall pick this year was moved and Miami will still be feeding off that trade of Tunsil in the future. Next year in 2022, the Dolphins will have a 3rd round pick from San Francisco and a 4th round pick from Philly both with selections that are tied to the 3rd overall from Houston this year. In 2023, they will have another first-rounder.
To date the trade of Laremy Tunsil and Kenny Stills looks like this:
Noah Igbinoghene
Solomon Kindley
Jaylen Waddle
Jevon Holland
2022 3rd round pick
2022 4th round pick
2023 first-round8 pick.
This is an incredible haul and Miami only needs one of those players to become a Pro Bowl type to match Tunsil’s Pro Bowl level of play. I also think that at least one of those future picks will eventually turn into more picks as well.