DAVIE, Fla. -- The Miami Dolphins open their regular season in five weeks and begin the preseason in one week against the New York Giants. Yet, after organized team activities, minicamp and one week of training camp, first-round pick Laremy Tunsil remains a backup.

The Ole Miss product was viewed as one of the top players in the draft, and the Dolphins were ecstatic to land him at No. 13. But Tunsil so far plays mostly on the second team as a backup left guard. Occasionally Tunsil will get a look on the first team, but it hasn't been significant.

Is there reason to be alarmed?

The Dolphins are in no rush with Laremy Tunsil, who is getting most of his work as the backup left guard and backup left tackle. Steve Mitchell/USA TODAY Sports

"No, not alarming at all. It's actually great," Dolphins offensive coordinator Clyde Christensen said. "We're going to have more flexibility than ever because you've got some talent in there. We'll have to make some decisions, but those decisions will come more after Week 1 of the preseason, and then we'll still have two weeks of camp and a fourth preseason game and a game week to have the combination right that we want to go into the season with."

The Dolphins are in no rush with Tunsil. They continue to "cross train" offensive linemen, which means teaching players different positions. Tunsil is getting most of his work as the backup left guard and backup left tackle.

Tunsil's transition hasn't been easy. He has struggled with some of the differences at guard, such as keeping his hand on the ground and understanding the different leverage. That's resulted in missed assignments in practice.

"Every player on the team has something to work on. He is not alone in that," offensive line coach Chris Foerster said. "He is really doing a great job -- having him in two positions, he is studying, having him learn two spots technique-wise, all the things that go with it. He has done a really, really fine job to this point. (I) couldn't be any happier with his progress."

Tunsil will get a good share of reps in the preseason to improve his game. According to Christensen, Tunsil is going to be a building block with Miami for a long time, despite his rookie learning curve.

"He's really a talented guy," Christensen said. "He's going to be a really fine left tackle at whatever point, but there is a learning curve for him at guard. Things actually happen quicker at guard. You have all of the twists. You've got a lot more movement. You're setting outside about 85 percent of the time. It probably is going to be good for him long term to have played in there and understand how quickly things happen in this league."