DAVIE, Fla. — Miami Dolphins first-round draft pick Laremy Tunsil, the No. 13 overall selection this year, has not overtaken incumbent Dallas Thomas for the starting job at left guard, as expected.
That is especially surprising because Thomas was among the lowest-rated starting guards in the NFL last season, according to profootballfocus.com.
“He’s got a lot to learn,” Dolphins coach Adam Gase said of Tunsil, who is making the move from left tackle, which he played at Mississippi, to left guard. “We need him to keep getting better. His thing is, it’s new for him.
“That (shift) inside, that’s a different animal. He’s learning and the thing I love about him is that he works hard.”
Gase, in his first year on the job, said all along he disregards last season and everyone has a clean slate this year. Gase repeated that claim Sunday.
“I know everybody is really itching to fire everybody and bench everybody,” he said. “(We ran) seven plays. I understand everybody’s concern about every little thing when certain people have history with guys that have been here in the past, but I said this right when we started this thing — everybody has a fresh start with this crew. Our job is to evaluate what we see.”
Thomas played all six official plays (one was negated due to penalty) with the starters in Friday’s 27-20 victory at the New York Giants in the preseason opener.
Thomas also went with the starters in the first 11-on-11 drill of Sunday’s practice. But Tunsil was with the first team in the two remaining 11-on-11 drills Sunday.
Tunsil didn’t speak with reporters after Sunday’s practice, but Thomas did.
Thomas, the 2013 third-round pick from Tennessee, said he doesn’t pay attention to social media, where he’s been made the scapegoat for all the many ills of Miami’s offensive line.
“It’s pointless,” he said. “Social media gives people, what’s a good word to say it? It gives them (guts to say things) that they wouldn’t say to your face.”
Thomas had one remarkably bad play against the Giants in which he got shoved all the way back into quarterback Ryan Tannehill. But he gave his overall play a passing grade.
“I feel like I did good,” he said. “I had that one bad play, but besides that I was fine.”
Thomas understands the front office might favor Tunsil because he’s a first-round pick. But he said he hasn’t felt slighted by Gase and his staff.
“(Tunsil) has to come out here and work, I’ve got to come out here and work,” Thomas said. “It’s the way this game goes. You can’t just say, ‘Oh, he’s (drafted No.) 13 and count myself out. No.”
Right now it appears left guard would be the only position among the offensive line to change a starter. The others — center Mike Pouncey, right guard Billy Turner, left tackle Branden Albert and right tackle Ja’Wuan James — all seem set.
The only other offensive line surprise/disappointment would be right guard Jermon Bushrod, who was supposed to supplant Turner. But Bushrod, a career NFL left tackle trying to transition to guard, hasn’t threatened Turner’s starting spot.
As for the Thomas vs. Tunsil battle, Gase said nothing will be gifted to anyone and last year’s performance won’t affect this year’s judgment.
“Anything that happened in the past is irrelevant,” Gase said. “It doesn’t matter to me. It does not matter. Every guy is going to get a true evaluation and we’ll make our final decision the first game of the season. That’s what we are going to do. This is going to be the process that we go through.”
–Tannehill was 2-for-4 passing for 8 yards against the Giants. Starters only played six snaps. Tannehill was under duress for a couple of plays.
–Running back Isaiah Pead rushed for 50 yards on 10 carries, which could go a long way toward his bid to make the 53-man roster. Running back Daniel Thomas rushed for 40 yards on 10 carries, but is still a because he doesn’t excel at special teams.
Most likely, running backs Arian Foster and Jay Ajayi are shoo-ins for the 53-man roster. That could leave two spots for the others –Thomas, Pead, Damien Williams and Kenyan Drake, the third-round pick from Alabama who is sidelined with a hamstring injury. Williams, last year’s third-down back, is a core special teams player.
–Wide receiver DeVante Parker (hamstring) didn’t practice Sunday or play in the game. Gase said it was just precautionary. Parker, who had an injury-shortened rookie season due to a foot problem, has missed a significant portion of offseason workouts and training camp practices.
Wide receiver Jakeem Grant was productive against the Giants. The 5-foot-6, sixth-round pick from Texas Tech had four receptions for 68 yards, two kickoff returns for 53 yards, and four punt returns for 60 yards, totaling 181 all-purpose yards.
–Cornerback Bobby McCain started on the right side for veteran Byron Maxwell and did well, ending with an INT, three tackles and two passes defended. McCain, who is behind S Michael Thomas for the starting nickel spot, could get competition in a week or so when newly-signed cornerback Chris Culliver (knee) is healthy enough to practice.
–DE Julius Warmsley, the first-year player from Tulane who has flashed in practice, had two sacks against the Giants. Unfortunately, Warmsley, who is contending for a roster spot in a crowded and talented DE field, sustained a concussion in the third quarter and didn’t return. He also missed practice Sunday.
NOTES: Among those not playing in the game were Maxwell (groin), expected to return to practice Monday; DL Ndamukong Suh, who returned to practice Sunday; DE Cam Wake (Achilles tendon) and DE Mario Williams, who practiced Sunday.
