Pro Bowl selections are like Christmas Day: someone is always going to be whining about what someone else got.
Enter Houston Texans left tackle Laremy Tunsil, who earned his first career Pro Bowl selection Tuesday night. The honor is vindication for coach Bill O’Brien and the five-man general managing council that traded a king’s ransom to the Miami Dolphins on Aug. 31 to acquire the 2016 first-round pick. The results are also quantifiable as quarterback Deshaun Watson has gone from taking 62 in 2018 to 39 in 2019 with two games to go. Probably the best indicator that Tunsil has helped the offensive line is that Watson had two-game stretch from Weeks 5-6 where he did not take a single sack, a feat not seen around Houston since Weeks 1-2 of the 2014 season, the start of the O’Brien era.
But Kansas City Chiefs right tackle Mitchell Schwartz is just a tad better, according to Doug Farrar of the Touchdown Wire.
Schwartz has been one of the better right tackles of the last few years, and he’s never made a Pro Bowl, though he was an All-Pro in 2018. This season, he’s allowed just one sack, five quarterback hits, and 12 quarterback hurries. Meanwhile, Tunsil has allowed three sacks and 15 hurries. Both players have allowed 18 total pressures, but the sack total should push Tunsil out and Schwartz in.
The only way Texans fans would go for Schwartz replacing Tunsil is if the latter is preparing for Super Bowl LIV in Miami Gardens, Fla. Otherwise, Tunsil earning the Pro Bowl nod is an indication that Watson’s blindside is going to be safe for years to come.
