Arian Foster, Laremy Tunsil named starters for Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins have named Arian Foster and Laremy Tunsil as starters for their regular-season opener against the Seattle Seahawks.

In news that shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to those close to the team, the Dolphins have named running back Arian Foster and guard Laremy Tunsil as Week 1 starters:

According to the team’s official depth chart, Foster is ahead of Jay Ajayi for the starting running back job. Both backs did almost nothing in the preseason, as Ajayi averaged 2.7 yards per carry and Foster ran seven times for five yards. Nonetheless, the Dolphins coaching staff feels comfortable with the way Foster has been moving given the Achilles tear he suffered last season.

Though Foster has been named the starter, still look for the Dolphins to mix in Ajayi as a way of keeping the oft-injured Foster fresh.

“He [Foster] had a really good camp,” said head coach Adam Gase on Monday. “He did everything we asked him to do, as far as what we wanted to see in the preseason, and he’s been very consistent.”

As for Tunsil, it’s been quite a ride for him to become the starting left guard. Initially projected as a top-three pick before the 2016 NFL Draft, Tunsil slipped to No. 13 after a video leaked of him smoking what appeared to be marijuana out of a gas mask. With the fiasco behind him, Tunsil earned the starting job after spending most of preseason working with the second-team offense:

According to Pro Football Focus, Tunsil surrendered zero quarterback pressures in the preseason. This is a very good sign for somebody who is only entering his rookie campaign.

Both Tunsil and Foster have been praised by the Dolphins coaching staff for their offseason and preseason work, now we’ll see how they fare in the regular season.