The Washington Commanders are getting aggressive with their Offensive Rookie of the Year quarterback from 2024, while the Houston Texans are doing theirs from 2023 a disservice early in his career. The Commanders have their new starting left tackle for Jayden Daniels, acquiring Laremy Tunsil for draft picks and leaving a big void in front of C.J. Stroud in Houston.
As the NFC runner-up in the 2024 NFL season, the Commanders are trying to go one step further with the dynamic dual-threat Daniels with an all-in move. Meanwhile, the Texans need to find someone new to protect the pocket passing Stroud’s blind side.
Here’s breaking down the lopsided trade between Washington and Houston.
NFL FREE AGENCY 2025: Live tracker | Grading every move | Top 75 available
Laremy Tunsil trade grades
Commanders receive:
- OT Laremy Tunsil
- 2025 fourth-round draft pick
Texans receive:
- 2026 second-round draft pick
- 2025 third-round draft pick
- 2026 fourth-round draft pick
- 2025 seventh-round draft pick
Commanders grade: A
The Commanders have their bookend to pair with former Chief Andrew Wylie. Tunsil also boosts the run blocking for Washington’s ground-heavy attack along with keeping Daniels cleaner to throw deep downfield to Terry McLaurin and others. The veteran tackle immediately becomes a key leader of the line with plenty of high-level play left in him ahead of turning 31 in August.
This could end up like the reverse version of what happened with former Washington franchise left tackle Trent Williams, who has proved to be ageless with his domination in San Francisco. Outside blockers of Tunsil’s caliber don’t become available as veterans often, so the Commanders had to jump on it while paying Daniels on his bargain rookie contract.
Texans grade: D
Meanwhile, the Texans went the money-saving and draft capital stockpiling route despite having Stroud on his rookie first-QB deal, too. Houston needs to be helping Stroud now after a mild sophomore slump which saw key wide receivers go down and offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik get fired.
Replacing Tunsil and downgrading the protection for Stroud doesn’t help and the addition of often injured veteran slot Christian Kirk doesn’t sound inspiring. The Texans are turning to an extension of Sean McVay’s offense with new coordinator Nick Caley and now are shorthanded in the passing game at two positions beyond Nico Collins.
The Texans did get a reasonable haul of picks in return for Tunsil, but that also shows how valuable he is to a budding offense with a young QB. Daniels now gets to be the beneficiary, while Stroud faces more of a burden.
