Tuli Tuipulotu NFL Draft 2023: Scouting Report for Los Angeles Chargers' EDGE
HEIGHT: 6'3"
WEIGHT: 266
HAND: 10 1/8"
ARM: 32 1/4"
WINGSPAN: TBD
40-YARD DASH: TBD
3-CONE: TBD
SHUTTLE: TBD
VERTICAL: TBD
BROAD: TBD
POSITIVES
— Carries his frame really well, no bad weight and has room for growth if he needs to add mass.
— Good get-off, quick to react to the snap and accelerates off the line of scrimmage well.
— As a pass rusher, he sets up his moves well by either getting to square to give himself a two-way go and/or giving head/shoulder fakes to get offensive linemen to stop their feet or hesitate.
— Also, he's good at selling the bull rush initially and working to get on an edge to get linemen off-balance.
— Has impressive quickness and change of direction to win with stick moves (inside or outside) or an arm over.
— Dirty inside spin move where he knocks the tackle's hands down, and he has the athleticism to spin quickly and cover ground laterally to clear the tackle.
— Showed flashes of winning with a push-pull move.
— Decent bend at the top of the rush.
— As a run defender, he's physical at the point of attack and has pop in his hands to get extension against offensive linemen. Does a much better job of playing with his hand in front of him when playing the run versus rushing the passer.
— Uses efficient footwork, quickness and a solid rip move to get penetration when slanting.
— Also uses his quickness and change of direction skills combined with a swim move to make blockers miss.
— Stays tight to the line of scrimmage when unblocked and is solid at getting underneath pullers as the spill player in run fits.
— Occasionally used in coverage as a spot-dropper or in press against tight ends.
NEGATIVES
— A bit of a tweener body type, big for an edge and small for an interior defender.
— Block recognition is sub-par, he'll take an extra half second to diagnose the scheme and can start the rep slightly out of position.
— Plays very upright, especially against the run, which makes it more difficult for him to hold his ground versus offensive tackles with good leverage and double teams.
— Will occasionally get caught with a narrow base and has a habit of stopping his feet on contract when playing gap control.
— Hand placement is a little wide as a run defender.
— Not gap disciplined, will leave his assignment early and open up rushing lanes.
— Struggles to tackle in space, doesn't break down and will over-pursue or miss.
— When working finesse moves as a pass-rusher, he has poor accuracy with his hands to beat the man. Especially against deeper dropbacks/vertical sets as he drops his hands the more steps he takes before initial contact.
— His pad level impacts the effectiveness of his bull rush, especially against linemen with good anchors.
2022 STATISTICS
— 14 GM, 46 TOT, 22 TFL, 13.5 SK, 2 FF, 3 PBU
NOTES
– DOB: September 3, 2022
– A 3-Star recruit in the 2020 class, No. 386 overall, No. 40 DT, per 247Sports composite rankings
– No major injuries
– 30 career starts
– Career stats (three seasons): 116 total tackles (67 solo), 32 TFL, 21 sacks, 5 PD, 4 FFs
– 2022 Honors: Unanimous All-American, Pat Tillman Defensive Player of the Year, Morris Trophy winner, Polynesian Football Player of the Year, First-Team All-Pac-12, led the country in sacks (13.5)
– 2021 Honors: First-Team All-Pac-12 (coaches, Phil Steele), Third-Team All-Pac-12 (PFF), won USC's Defensive Lineman of the Year
– 2020 Honors: Second-Team Freshman All-American (The Athletic), Honorable Mention All-Pac-12 (PFF)
– Brother, Marlon, also played at USC and now plays for the Eagles, cousins with 49ers' safety Talanoa Hufanga and former Colts' DT Fili Moala
OVERALL
Tuli Tuipulotu has an impressive blend of strength and athletic ability that will certainly appeal to NFL scouts and general managers. He has enough pop in his hands to get extension as a run defender combined with the quickness and change of direction skills to win as a pass-rusher. However, Tuipulotu still has some technical flaws to iron out at the next level.
He plays with little to no knee bend which can be an issue against the run, especially if the offensive lineman has good reactive athleticism and can stay in front of him. As a pass rusher, he struggles with his use of hands and will let tackles get to his chest. Right now, he's pretty reliant on winning with pure athleticism when rushing the passer.
As far as scheme fit goes, the Trojan is somewhat unique. USC used him in a lot of different ways; as a standup and off-ball linebacker, wide-technique defensive end and defensive tackle. They would even have him spot-drop and occasionally play in press coverage (with safety help) against a couple of notable tight ends like Michael Mayer and Dalton Kincaid.
In the NFL, Tuipulotu is probably a little heavy to be a standup linebacker and too light to play as a three-technique, so his best spot will likely be as a hand-in-the-ground defensive end in either odd or even fronts. Though, he has plenty of room on his frame to fill out if a team wants him to play inside more.
GRADE: 7.5 (Potential Impact Player/2nd round)
OVERALL RANK: 52
POSITION RANK: EDGE9
PRO COMPARISON: Cameron Jordan