Mark Tuinei Madden Career 1992-1998 - Peak 98 OVR

Mark Tuinei took one of the most unusual paths to a long NFL career. Undrafted out of Hawaii in 1983, he signed with Dallas as a defensive lineman, converted to offensive tackle a couple of years later, and ended up protecting Troy Aikman's blind side for the entire run of the dynasty, fifteen seasons in a single uniform.

Madden rated the peak of that run generously. Tuinei sat in the 50s early, then spiked to a 98 in Madden NFL 95 for the 1994 season, one of the ceiling-level Cowboys grades of that year, before settling back into the 70s. The 98 flatters a very good but not superhuman left tackle; the truer read was a steady, technically sound anchor on the Great Wall of Dallas.

Tuinei made two Pro Bowls, won three Super Bowls, and was the quiet, dependable bookend on a line full of bigger personalities. He retired after the 1997 season, and his story ended in tragedy: he died in 1999 at just 39 years old. He is remembered in Hawaii as one of the islands' great football exports and in Dallas as the unassuming tackle who kept a Hall of Fame quarterback upright for a decade. Madden's lone 98 marks the height of a long, understated career.